Fake Dating
by ArollaPine
Summary: That plan – although perfect in theory – couldn't be successful. It involved him – a popular model, and her – a rising star of pop music in the craziest project of their lives. When Adrien Agreste faces the challenge of showing with a girlfriend in public, his agent suggests a popular singer, LadyBug. Yet... how to make two strangers pretend being in love? An AU story.
1. An opportunity

„Have you lost your mind?!" Marinette Dupain-Cheng exclaimed, staring at her manager in horror. "No way!"

"But why?" a petite brunette acted as being surprised. "That's a perfect opportunity for you."

"It's out of question!"

"Have I _ever_ let you down? Have I _ever_ made a wrong decision? Have I ever…?"

"Stop that, Tikki!" Marinette interrupted. "We both know that you've _never_ let me down. But this… That thing you suggest…" She couldn't even say it aloud.

"What?"

"It's crazy! I can't believe you agreed to _that_!" The girl cried and shook her head.

"Technically, I haven't agreed to anything yet. But I don't understand why you're against this." Tikki wrung her hands theatrically. "Haven't you seen his pictures? He's really hot!"

"So, maybe _you_ should date him!"

"It's not _me_ who wants to sell albums." The manager replied. "It's not _me_ who's on stage. It's not me who wants to sing for fans…"

"You're punching below the belt…"

"I'm too old for him." Tikki added. "Nobody will believe he's dating a woman at mid-thirties."

"So what?" Marinette shrugged and approached to the window. "It's his problem, not mine…" she whispered looking outside.

"Come on, Marinette… They came to us first. Such an opportunity doesn't happen too often. Besides, let me remind you what I told you a few years ago, when you started your career. Show-business is a cruel world. You can have a talent but never sell a single album. You need to be recognisable. The press must write about you, because that's how it works."

"But I don't want to have a career that way!" Marinette protested.

"What way?" Tikki narrowed her big blue eyes and suddenly became ominous.

"Selling albums by new scandals."

"I'm the last person who would ask you for taking part in anything scandalous! I ask you for one date with a famous guy, who has never shown in public with a girlfriend. You see? Nothing scandalous! No risk that you steal him from anyone… And there are some advantages for his as well. So, a classic win-win situation."

"I don't like it, Tikki…"

"I've said it a thousand times, so I'll repeat for the thousand first time. A talent is not enough, darling. Sometimes you need some luck. Sometimes you have to make your own luck. Just one date, that's all I'm asking for… Well… Maybe a few dates. Before we go on tour. We need people on your concert. Do you want to sing for an empty room?"

"Okay! _Fine_!" Marinette gave up.

Tikki knew that an empty room was Marinette's biggest fear. The singer loved her fans, especially when she could share her emotions with them - she always expressed in music. An empty room meant that there was no one to share those emotions with.

"Sometimes I think there's no way to stop you when you're determined…" Marinette muttered under her breath.

Somewhere, at the bottom of her heart she felt an anxiety as if she'd just made the worst decision in her life.


	2. A perfect plan

"Have you lost your mind?!" Adrien Agreste cried at his agent.

"Of course I haven't…" Plagg grinned. "It's a perfect plan, kid."

"You can't be serious…"

"I'm dead serious!"

"Except your Machiavellian smile…" Nino Lahiffe cut in. Adrien glared at his bodyguard who was standing at the door and observed the whole situation from a side.

"Your father has already started suspecting something and the social pressure is growing. You have to show with a girl. In public!" Plagg continued.

"What could my father start suspecting?"

"Your sexual orientation."

"What's wrong with my sexual orientation?!" Adrien asked outraged, and Nino sniggered.

Plagg rolled his eyes.

"I'm not sure if your father would accept the fact that his only son is gay."

"First of all, it's none of his business! Secondly, I'm not gay. Why could you think otherwise? And thirdly, what's wrong in being gay?"

"I'll answer to all your silly questions, kid. And listen carefully, because I'm not going to repeat it, because it's obvious. First: do you _know_ your father at all?! Of course _it is_ his business. _You are_ his business! And he's interested in everything that is even slightly related to you!" Plagg explained, and Nino laughed in the corner that made Adrien glare at his friend again. "Secondly, I'm quite surprised that you're not gay. Are you sure?"

Adrien gritted.

"And thirdly, being gay is okay." Plagg shrugged. "Unless you're Gabriel Agreste's son."

"Confirmed." Nino muttered.

"You're exaggerating. My dad isn't that bad…"

"Yeah, right…" Plagg only shook his head. "I just want you to realise that it's high time to start living on your own. Be independent!"

"And what this independence has in common with your sick plan?" Adrien winced.

"Your father has to stop worrying about your orientation. When you start dating girls, he'll let you go a bit."

"I can find a girlfriend by myself, OK?"

"There's no time for this. If you waste more time, your father will find you someone, and you'll end up as the mayor's son-in-law."

"Chloé?" Adrien shook his head in disgust.

"See?" Plagg grinned. "A pure evil… Beware, because she's been trying to catch you for years. And I've found a girl perfect for you. Good-tempered, unpretentious, innocence personified. She's a rising star of pop music, without a scandalous past, but with good prospects for the future. You can help her, she will help you. A win-win situation."

"I don't like it."

"You don't have to. Just a few dates, maybe a fashion show. You'll hold your hands. Then she'll go on tour, you'll go back to modelling and everyone will forget about the case. Your lovely dad will be content that one day he'll become a grandfather, and I won't turn grey before my forties."

Adrien looked askance at Plagg, but couldn't even imagine him grey-haired.

"Fine…" he agreed reluctantly, that made both the agent and the bodyguard sigh with relief.

"You won't regret, dude." Nino muttered.

"I'm not so sure…" Adrien wasn't convinced.

"Great! Now I have to prepare your meeting." Plagg rubbed his hands with satisfaction. "And I have to meet her manager."

Then he left the room. Adrien folded his arms and glared at Nino. Now they'd talk.


	3. LadyBug

"Just tell me it's not you…" Adrien muttered as soon as the door closed behind Plagg.

"What: not me?" Nino asked surprised.

"That it's not your stupid idea."

"The idea isn't mine." the bodyguard admitted and added quickly: "And it isn't stupid."

"It is!"

"You wouldn't say so, if you knew what I had to listen to…"

"Please, tell me what was so terrible to listen to…" Adrien replied ironically.

"It would be better if you sit down…" Nino sighed. "Last week your father called me in…"

"What for?"

"Geez, Adrien! Maybe think a little?"

"But… About what?"

"And what the heck we've been talking about for last thirty minutes?"

"I don't see the point."

"You're quite resistant to logic."

"Are you insulting me?"

"Fine! Let's try again… And people say that blondes are stupid…"

"If I were you I'd focus on the issue."

"Your father thinks that if I'm your bodyguard and we're friends, and you have never had a girlfriend…" Nino suddenly stopped, as if he couldn't say aloud what Gabriel Agreste had suggested.

"You must be joking!" Adrien cried outraged, guessing finally what his friend tried to tell him. "Why did he think so?"

"Actually, I've started wondering if he wasn't right…"

"What?!"

"Oh, come on! What was I supposed to think?!" Nino replied in a defending tone. "Everything's against you. I mean… Everything shows that it's true. Even Plagg believed that you… You know…"

"It's a nightmare…" Adrien hid his face in palms. Had everyone gone crazy? Why had they begun being interested in his love life?

"So, I talked to Plagg, and he conceived the idea of arranging a date with a girl. You'll pretend a beautiful relationship, your father will go away, and I won't be fired."

"Have you really thought that I'm attracted to you?" Adrien asked after a while, still processing the news.

Nino only shrugged uncertain.

"Have I _ever_ acted as if I was attracted to you?" Adrien frowned.

"No, you haven't." his friend admitted. "But your father put me through a severe cross-examination and I lost my mind…"

"Clearly." Adrien nodded. "You had to lose your mind if you agreed to Plagg's sick plan!"

"Have you seen her at least?"

"Who?"

"This LadyBug."

"I've never heard about her before Plagg mentioned her name today."

"Check YouTube. If I don't see a twinkle in your eyes, you're gay."

"Very funny… Wait… Did you have a twinkle?"

"I have another target." Nino muttered, with a slight blush.

"Please, don't tell me it's me…"

"Sorry, dude. You're not my type."

"Can we _never_ come back to this subject?"

"Sure." Nino patted his friend in the back and gave him a smartphone. "Now, just have a look at your new girlfriend."

Yet, he couldn't resist and glanced at Adrien watching Ladybug's concert. Then he smiled under his breath, because his friend _had_ a twinkle in his eyes.


	4. Not such a safe option

Tikki was right. He was hot. Marinette sighed with disappointment. It was a pity they hadn't met by accident on the street. Maybe they could catch an eye contact and something would happen. Instead, there were some fake dates ahead, after which they both would go their separate ways. Besides… Apparently she wasn't his type.

She was sitting in a car driven by Tikki in a way for the first meeting with Adrien Agreste. She didn't even pretend to listen her manager who was repeating all those piffle as before each contest or audition. Firstly, secondly, thirdly… Blah, blah, blah… It could be easily reduced to keeping up appearances of self-confidence and professionalism. After so many years of rehearsals, contests, talent shows and concerts she learnt all these things by heart, so she could stop listening to Tikki. And it always worked somehow.

This time her manager was watchful, so she stopped her lecture and noticed wryly:

"You should listen to me, Marinette. It's important!"

"I'm listening…"

"Yeah, right… And I'm a prima ballerina of the Moscow Ballet."

"With you, who knows…" Marinette muttered. "You might have been a prima ballerina."

"You could stop pouting. Focus, please!" Tikki suggested. "We have to map out the scenario today. I hope that no paparazzi will find us here, otherwise the whole mystification will fail. On the other hand, we could always say that you're dating in secret, so your meeting in this club would be somehow justified. But how to explain that I'm coming in with you?"

"You could always say that you're dating Adrien's agent…" Marinette teased and grinned when she noticed her manager's blush.

"Leave it out!" Tikki warned.

"See? It's not nice to be made to date someone."

"I'm not the case here, so focus, Marinette! Today we're going to talk about everything that is crucial for your story. It has to be believable."

"It's rather his problem than mine."

"Why is that?"

"Well, if he's gay it will be harder for him to pretend he likes me."

"Nobody said that Adrien is gay!" Tikki laughed and slowed down before the crossroads.

"Wh-What?" Marinette stuttered.

She felt panic, perfectly aware that she'd agreed to this plan only because she was sure Adrien was a safe option.

"Why did you think so?" Tikki asked and looked at her ward, taking the opportunity of waiting for a green light.

"Well… You said that…"

"Huh!" The manager smiled triumphantly and glanced at traffic lights. It turned green so she could move on. "If you listened carefully what I was talking to you, you'd know that they're all rumours."

"But…" Marinette began but couldn't finish, suddenly embarrassed.

When Tikki stopped the car in a side street, in front of a dirty door, she turned to the girl and asked in a serious tone:

"Do you want to withdraw?"

"No, it's OK." The young singer just shook her head. "I have to change my attitude, that's all. You know… He's really good looking… So… Never mind. I can do it. As always…"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine. Besides, we can't waste your time spent on brainwashing…" Marinette smiled ironically.

"Poor joke, darling." Tikki winced, and – just to ease the tension – she added in a light tone: "Come on, let's meet your prince charming!"

"Yeah, let's turn him into a frog…"

"Probably you will have to kiss him first." the manager winked at Marinette.

"Probably…" the girl shuddered in disgust.

"What happened?" Tikki stopped in the middle of getting out the car.

"What?"

"Why did you just shudder as if kissing Adrien was something disgusting? Haven't you seen his pictures?"

"I won't kiss a picture but a human!" Marinette replied outraged. "What if I simply don't like him at all? What if he's a pervert or a snob?"

"Remember, the contract concerns only a few fake dates. You don't have to do anything against your will, OK? Gooey eyes, holding hands, that's enough. And if…" Tikki hesitated but finished: "If Adrien suddenly decided he wants to kiss you, but you wouldn't like it, just say '_no_'. Please, promise me you'll remember that!"

Marinette only glanced frightened at her manager and nodded. Then she got out the car. Tikki followed her with a deep anxiety. She didn't like it. Was it possible that she'd made a wrong decision – for the first time in her life?


	5. The first meeting

It was a typical entrance to a club. Marinette got used to entering through the rear, but it was always related to performing on a stage, so she wasn't surprised she felt a well-known knot in her stomach – a symptom of a stage fright. For a moment a thought occurred to her that probably it was a kind of conditioned reflex – that her brain had associated entering clubs through back door and feeling a stage fright. But this fear was gone every time she appeared on stage. This time was different. There wouldn't be spotlights nor enthusiastic audience. She had to take part in a poor romance for paparazzi and tabloids.

Suddenly she realised that her hands were shaking. It had never happened before!

"Maybe I'll go first…" Tikki whispered, seeing what was happening to Marinette. She knew her too well.

"Thanks…"

The girl sighed with relief and let her manager to lead her inside. When they walked through a narrow corridor, Marinette noticed that Tikki seemed to know very well where they should go. She felt intrigued a little, and for a moment she forgot why she was there. Curiosity replaced fear.

They went upstairs, then Tikki stopped and knocked on a door. After quiet invitation '_Come in!_' she pressed the door handle.

Marinette felt her heart in her throat. Fear came back. But she discovered in surprise that curiosity stayed as well. That was weird, as if she was warm and cold at the same time. She'd never felt like this before.

She had no idea what was waiting for her inside. So, when she entered a bright room, full of sunlight dropping through big windows, she couldn't supress her astonishment. She squinted and then she saw _him_.

He was standing by a window, leaning against its frame, and the sun was dancing in his blond hair. He put his hands in his pockets and looked like he was taking part in a photoshoot – at ease and self-confident. Yet, Marinette intuited he was nervous. Maybe even more that she was.

By the way she thanked herself for choosing an outfit for this meeting. If she followed Tikki's advice and wore that mini skirt and a sequin top, she would look like a celebrity who wanted to use an opportunity. She felt much more comfortable in jeans and an off-the-shoulder blouse in flower pattern. Yeah, "off-the-shoulder" was a bit unconventional, but her status of a rising star obliged her to keep a hint of extravagance.

They both looked at each other, but it was a losing battle for her – he was standing against the light so he could see her clearly, while she felt like she was staring straight at the sun. She looked away when she spotted a tear in a corner of her eye. The first point went to Prince Charming… Or rather to the Frog – she corrected in mind and smiled under her breath.

"Okay, let's get to business." a dark-haired man commanded in a surprising content tone.

"Yes, Plagg. Let's get it over with…" Tikki agreed.

Marinette looked astonished at her manager, then glanced quickly at Adrien. Their shocked eyes met for a moment.

The guy, called '_Plagg_', cleared his throat, as if he was uncomfortable. Marinette didn't have too much time to think what could be a reason of his embarrassment – an unusual intimacy in Tikki's voice or maybe the prospect of making two strangers pretend to be madly in love. The inevitable was approaching and she was more and more nervous about it. She noticed by a corner of her eye that the sun started reflecting at a different angle – Adrien moved from the window frame in her direction. She became self-conscious immediately.

"Hi…" he muttered, approaching but not closer than at arm's length. As if he didn't want to enter into her personal space.

"Hi…" she whispered shyly, noticing that he kept hiding his hands in his pockets.

So far his behaviour fitted to the scenario where Adrien was to be a snob, which was a perfect solution when she planned not to fall in love with him. Irrelevant anyway, because she detected embarrassment radiating from him.

"Oh, geez…" Plagg only groaned, and Tikki glanced at him in consternation. "Nobody will believe in _that_!"

"Calm down, we have time!" Tikki quickly controlled her panic attack.

"They were to have a date this evening!"

"_This_ evening?!" Marinette and Adrien exclaimed simultaneously.

"Of course!" Plagg winced. "What did you think? That we have six months for making plans? The clock is ticking, and I'll tell you, kid, it's not to your advantage."

The room became quiet. Adrien lowered his head, and Marinette had an impression that Tikki hadn't told her everything. It seemed to her that there was a story behind the story.

"Let's sit down…" Marinette's manager suggested.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Plagg asked.

"Cola for me." Tikki ordered.

"I'd like to have a cup of tea, please…" Marinette whispered.

"Tea?" Plagg laughed, so the girl glared at him.

"What's wrong with tea?" she asked in a reserved tone.

"You drink tea when something hurts you."

"You can drink tea whenever you want."

"Marinette is of Chinese descent." Tikki cut in with explanation.

"There's no need to excuse!" Marinette replied. "Neither my taste nor my origin should be a subject of jokes or discrimination."

Plagg raised his eyebrows and glanced at Adrien with a half-smile. It was going to be fun. The agent was very curious how Adrien – so far such a well-mannered kid, polite and fully subordinated to his father – would deal with this temperamental girl.


	6. Blunders

"So, tea!" Plagg clapped his hands suddenly satisfied. "Right away!"

After saying that he left the room not worrying about shocked glances exchanged by Adrien, Marinette and Tikki. The latter jumped to her feet and followed Plagg explaining quickly:

"I forgot to mention that I drink only diet coke!"

Adrien looked uncertain at Marinette who only smiled under her breath. He didn't understand what was so funny for her and that made him confused. He had expected a shy girl, but instead he met a self-confident young woman who – if necessary – knew how to defend her opinion without being afraid of such people like Plagg. And, to be fair, his agent resembled more a godfather than a retired model.

"Do you think they did it on purpose?" he asked quietly, instinctively bend in her direction.

"Oh, I'm sure they did!" she replied in an amused tone. "Tikki _hates_ diet coke."

They both burst out laughing.

"Maybe we should start over." he suggested. "My name is Adrien. Adrien Agreste."

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." she introduced herself.

"Not LadyBug?"

"That's my pseudonym. In real life I'm just Marinette."

"Nice to meet you. In spite of everything…"

"In spite of everything?" she spotted.

"Well, you can't tell me we met in an ordinary way!" he laughed, finally feeling more comfortable.

"Yeah, you're right." she nodded with a half-smile. "It's worse than meeting on a dating site…"

"You know, they could suggest meeting at the altar…"

"Oh, God! I hope they won't make us get married!" Marinette exclaimed and just after a while she realised he was joking. She laughed nervously. "Sorry…" she whispered.

"I think there will be more such misunderstandings ahead." he noted. "It's quite natural, when people don't know each other too well. We may agree to not taking such blunders personally, OK?"

"Thank you." she smiled with relief. "That would make things easier."

"It will reduce awkwardness for sure."

"I still can't believe I let Tikki talk me into it." she sighed.

"Tell me about it…"

"It wasn't your idea?" she asked surprised, and when she saw his astonished face, she added quickly: "Sorry…"

"We were supposed not to take it personally, so please, don't apologise. And no. It wasn't my idea. Do you really think that I would resort to a mystification to have a girlfriend?"

"How do I know? I know nothing about you. Half an hour ago I was sure you're gay…" she muttered and immediately covered her mouth with her hand, as if it would help in taking back those words. She glanced at him embarrassed. "I'm so sorry!"

But Adrien only laughed.

"Stop apologising! So… You agreed because I was safe?"

She blushed. First of all, she was ashamed that it was so obvious. Secondly, he was right and he knew that. Thirdly, it seemed that he was intelligent. Not good… He was nice, handsome and intelligent… That made the whole situation even more complicated.

"Do you really think that I'd agree to a mystification to have a boyfriend?" she paraphrased his words, despite embarrassment.

"I don't know anything about you either." he replied. "Someone would say that you try to make a career on my name."

She winced. Yes, that was what she was afraid of. She had tried to explain that to Tikki. Now it seemed he thought that way about her.

"Hey, I'm sorry…" he whispered and touched her hand softly. She jumped up. "We were not to take it personally, remember?"

"Unless you bring up my biggest fear…"

"Oh, so this is your biggest fear?" he was surprised. "Good to know. But I don't think about you that way, OK?"

"But people will think that…"

"How do you know that?"

"We're acting like two strangers, and we're going to convince people that we're in love? They will guess quickly that it's fake and I'm making my career on your back."

"Stop worrying for the future." He smiled at her. "I'm sure we'll find a solution. Maybe we'll learn how to act like not strangers. Am I so disgusting?"

She glanced at him embarrassed, but he couldn't help smiling at her. Apparently she wasn't so self-confident as he'd thought at the beginning. Good. He had been afraid that such a popular pop star would turn his head and then break his heart and move on. Meanwhile he learnt that LadyBug who entertained crowds on her concerts, in fact was shy Marinette who had nothing in common with a rapacious celebrity who wanted to make her career by a relationship with a popular model. He could sigh with relief.

Could he?


	7. Three days

"Well, well, well…"

These were words said by happy Plagg who couldn't believe in what he saw after he came back to the room. Adrien was leaning in Marinette's direction, holding her hand, staring at her eyes. What a picture!

"See?" Tikki smiled meaningfully. "All we needed was to leave them alone."

Meanwhile both pretenders looked at their managers surprised and embarrassed. It wasn't that they'd been doing something improper. It was rather like a sudden reminder why they were there and what was going to happen in the nearest future. A pretending. That's all.

"It's not what you're thinking…" Marinette began.

"We didn't…" Adrien muttered at the same time.

Tikki and Plagg burst out laughing.

"You don't have to excuse yourselves!" Tikki said.

"That was perfect. I wish I had my camera with me!" Plagg put a tray on a table and grinned at Adrien. "Perfect!"

Adrien glanced at Marinette sideways. She was sitting with head hung, so terribly blushed. He felt so sorry for her. Up till now he'd thought mainly about himself – how he'd let Plagg talk him into this whole plan. Now he could think only about her. That was their – his and Plagg's – fault that she was involved in solving _his_ problem. Of course, she was adult and she knew what she was doing. Before he met her he had been sure that she had agreed because she needed him for her purposes as well. But he changed his opinion when she'd told him about her fears that people would think about that fake dating.

So… Why had she agreed? He didn't know the answer so far…

"Let's talk about details!" Plagg ordered.

"Marinette, your tea…" Tikki whispered, putting a cup of tea in front of the girl. By the way she placed her hand on Marinette's shoulder for a moment, as if she wanted to support her. Adrien noticed that from a side.

"Thanks…" Marinette murmured and took a sip. Tikki sat down next to her and looked carefully at Adrien. He looked away immediately, as if he was caught red handed.

"The story must be believable." Plagg began. "You have to figure out how you met. Your versions must be identical. For instance, if you met on LadyBug's concert, you have to find out how she saw him in a crowd, or what he was doing backstage."

"We'll work on that." Adrien interrupted. "You'll better tell us how you see it later."

"A classic set-up. We'll ask an informer to let the media know. At a push we could do it right now, when you'll be leaving the building. But we can set you up tomorrow at a club. I'm thinking about a nice restaurant. It's a quiet, discreet place. Perfect for secret dates. We could organise a set-up there."

"What's a set-up?" Marinette asked suddenly, and Plagg only laughed. She was so naïve…

"A set-up is a planned paparazzi action. Celebrities often do that to control their appearances in tabloids." Plagg explained. "It's like surprising a star at a grocery, you know, without a makeup and wearing casual clothes. In fact, they're good looking, and their '_casual'_ clothes were more expensive than my car."

"A set-up is like feeding tabloids with anything, but under control what we give them. Celebrities do this to keep media interested in them." Tikki added.

"And we're going to use this mechanism to catch you on your '_secret date_'." Plagg finished. "Everything will be under our control, and we'll achieve our goal which is to start a rumour that you're together. Before we do that, we have to prepare ourselves for journalists' storm who will have hundreds of questions to you both. You have to foresee all details, because if you're caught, the whole plan will fail."

"Uhm… Can… Can I suggest something?" Marinette asked shyly.

"Sure!" Plagg agreed kindly.

"You said that the set-up would be ready for tomorrow."

"Yes."

"Could we postpone it a little?"

"I've already told you that time isn't working to our advantage." Adrien's agent sighed theatrically.

"I mean that we should know each other better. To be convincible. You said that we looked like a disaster. Nobody will believe in our story if we act like two robots…"

Adrien stared at Marinette in admiration. She was brilliant! And that made him worry – she was too close to be ideal.

"I'm not sure…" Plagg hesitated. "What do you think, kid?"

"It's a good idea." Adrien admitted.

"So be it." his agent nodded. "Three days would be enough?"

"Only three?" Marinette was surprised.

"What? Too few?"

"W-Well… I'm not sure if it's enough…" she stuttered a bit unease when she heard Plagg's tone.

"It must be enough. Don't you get it?" Adrien's agent was irritated. "The plan was to organise your date _this_ evening. After your '_lovely_' introduction we've already postponed it for tomorrow. Now you've negotiated next three days. What more do you want?"

"Time."

"I can't give you more. I'm still wondering how the heck you managed to gain so much…"

"Three days are enough." Adrien cut in.

"I agree." Tikki added and winked at her ward meaningfully.

"It looks like I'm outvoted…" Marinette sighed. "All right. Let it be in three days."

"Great!" Plagg rubbed his hands. "Now, we need a detailed plan. Oh, by the way, girl, we have to introduce you to Nino."

"Who's Nino?" she asked.

"Adrien's bodyguard. He'll hover around. You have to get used to a shadower."

"It's getting quite a long list…" she replied wryly.

"Of what?" Adrien asked.

"Of things I have to get used to." she explained. "And I have only three days for all of that. Great, just great…" she commented ironically.

"We can do it. I'm sure about it." He said and smiled warmly at her.

She answered with a heartfelt smile forgetting for a moment that everything was to be fake.


	8. A crucial problem

"So, how did it go?" Nino asked, settling down on the couch with a bucket of popcorn. "Tell the story."

"Are you serious?" Adrien winced when he noticed a sly smile on his friend's face.

"I'm prepared for a long story. You've been away for a few hours. I was going to start looking for your dead body in an alleyway."

Adrien rolled his eyes. In this full of paradoxes situation only Nino seemed to be amused by observing the progress of events. Someone should spoil the fun for him.

"I think I should fire you." the model muttered. "As bodyguard you suck."

"You'll take it back!" Nino only laughed and ate a handful of popcorn.

"Well… You'll have your chance in the following days."

"Really? You have plans?"

"Not me. Plagg planned everything."

"Oh, so I'm going to be a chaperon, huh?"

"A bodyguard." Adrien corrected him.

"Whatever you call it. Although when I think how you behave with girls, you'll probably need a bodyguard instead of a chaperon…"

"Nino, can you leave me alone?"

"Fine. Just tell me what she is!" Nino gave up with teasing his friend.

Adrien glanced at him, but looked away when he noticed a meaningful smile on his bodyguard's face. It was too much to deal with – especially when he wasn't sure about his opinion on Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"She's even prettier in reality…" he sighed finally and sat down on the couch. He reached for popcorn, but his friend got the bucket with junk food far enough away.

"No way, dude! Your father would kill me if you ate even a handful."

Adrien glared at him. He was sick of all those restrictions, rules and guardians…

"Is it a problem she's pretty?" Nino asked after a while.

"A huge problem. Crucial!" Adrien suddenly exclaimed outraged. "Why couldn't I meet her somewhere by accident?!"

Then he hid his head in his hands. Nino stared at him in shock.

"I don't get it, man!"

"She's beautiful, smart and funny. If you could see her today… She was brilliant. Can you imagine she negotiated with Plagg three extra days for preparations?"

"Er… With Plagg?" Nino didn't believe in the news at all. "_That_ Plagg?"

"Exactly, with _that_ Plagg."

"Sooo… You're in trouble, man…"

"She's perfect…" Adrien sighed. "Damn it…"

"But… What's the problem?"

"That it's all fake! And she agreed to that, but didn't tell me why. All I know it wasn't because of making a career on my back."

"Why are you so sure?" Nino asked, keeping eating popcorn that made Adrien furious.

"She told me."

"If she's so witty, she could easily lie to you."

"No. I'm sure she didn't lie. It couldn't be fake."

"_Everything_ can be faked, dude."

"No, it was honest. I'm sure." Adrien repeated.

"I'll see tomorrow and let you know." Nino decided. "So, what's the plan?"

"A little trip. We chose Auvers sur Oise."

"Are you crazy?"

"It's not crowded, close to Paris. If someone caught us, we could always say we wanted to watch the '_Impressionist Vision_'."

"So, what are you going to visit there? Van Gogh's grave? In my opinion Auvers will make a bigger splash than Louvre… If anyone recognises you in Auvers sur Oise, you'll be done."

"You're exaggerating. I'm not so popular out of Paris, and Marinette is just a rising star, so she can stay anonymous."

"Marinette?"

"Well, yeah. LadyBug is her pseudonym."

"I've already figured out that's not her name…"

"Tomorrow we're going to spend a whole day together to figure out how possibly we could meet, date and so on. Plagg insisted on preparing all details, because each mistake means the biggest failure in the century."

"Oh, come on! Neither you're Prince Harry, nor she's Meghan Markle… Nobody cares about your dating. At worst, your father will lock you in by the time of your wedding with the mayor's daughter, which means about two weeks or so."

"Nino, leave me alone, OK? I don't want to have dreams about Chloé…"

"Oh, I know exactly who you want to dream about!"

"And think a few day ago you thought I was gay…" Adrien laughed that made his friend throw a fistful of popcorn in his direction.

"I didn't say _who_ I meant. But it's good to know who you thought about!"

"You're stepping on thin ice! You'll better prepare for tomorrow. You're going to act as my friend, not a bodyguard. It would be great if you get some information about art history. Oh! If my father asks you where we're going, you'll tell him we're checking a location for the next photoshoot. Plagg will take care of all details."

"I can see that deceiving people seems to be quite natural for you, Agreste…" Nino muttered, standing up. "True son of his father…"

"You'll take it back!" Adrien answered back, using his friends' words.

"As punishment I'm taking popcorn with me." Nino laughed and left the room.

Adrien stayed alone with all the comfort of thinking about a girl who turned out to be too ideal for fake dating…


	9. The first trip

That was the worst night in Marinette's life. First, she hadn't been able to calm down after her first meeting with her fake boyfriend. She tried everything that usually worked: tea, favourite music, meditation. All those relaxing technics failed, and she went to bed totally exhausted physically and psychically without a chance to fall asleep when crazy thoughts were attacking her brain all the time.

Moreover, she still saw Adrien's face before her eyes – with his agreeable look and warm smile… He really seemed to be a nice person. Yet, when she thought about spending a whole day with him, her stomach knotted tightly. She'd never experienced such a strong stage fright – even before her first concert on a stadium! That was definitely a bad omen…

The next morning she woke up beat, sleepy and pale. When she saw her face in a mirror she groaned in despair. She looked like hell! No make-up would hide her pale face and dark circles under her eyes, yet she took a chance. Then she drank an espresso and left home even though it was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Good morning, My Lady!" Adrien who was leaning against a car parked on the street greeted her with a wide smile.

"My Lady?" she repeated and burst out laughing, forgetting that five seconds ago she had preferred to stay at home forever than meet him today.

"Well, you're Lady-Bug, so be My Lady. I spent half the night to figure out a nice nickname for you, so please, don't take that satisfaction away from me."

"Half the night of thinking, and you're coming to me with _that_?" she asked ironically.

"Maybe I pronounced it in a wrong way…" he replied jokingly. "Wait. Let me try again…" he stood up and approached to her. He took her hand and said in a deep voice: "Good morning, _M'Lady_…"

"Oooh…" escaped from her, because those words suddenly became powerful.

"Yeah, he's just discovered a talent for flirting…" Nino commented wryly, after leaving the car.

"Aaa!" Marinette squeaked totally surprised by appearance of a stranger.

"Brilliant, huh?" the bodyguard muttered to Adrien and rolled his eyes. "Nino Lahiffe." he introduced himself.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." she said and shook hands with him.

Nino looked surprised at his hand. That was a really good handshake. Quick but firm. If Marinette wanted to impress him or convince him to herself, she just succeeded.

"Officially I'm Adrien's bodyguard, but for your little mystification I'm acting as your friend." After those words he glanced at the model to check if he understood the plan correctly. When Adrien nodded, Nino added: "We all are aware of how uncomfortable this experience will be, but bear in mind that not only for you. If I have to hear your flirting, especially such pickup lines like the last one, I'd prefer to be deaf."

"Careful, Nino!" Adrien interrupted in a warning tone.

"I'm just saying…"

"I think that this trip will be inconvenient mainly for Marinette, so leave it off. Besides, I've thought I pay you to be deaf when I need it?" he winked at his friend.

"If you lived a model's life, I'd have some fun. But no… You can ruin all fun…" Nino muttered, getting back in the car.

Marinette giggled. She glanced at Adrien uncertain and asked in whisper:

"He's more your bodyguard or your friend?"

"I'm not sure… Recently my father even suspected us to be in a relationship…" he blurted out.

"Oh, so that's why…" she understood suddenly. Adrien smiled under his breath when she stopped, embarrassed. She was still forgetting about their agreement of not taking such blunders personally.

"Plagg panicked a little that my dad would organise me a wedding within a month just to be sure to have grandchildren in the future."

"Plagg?" Marinette burst out laughing. "Or _you_?"

"To be honest, when I heard _who_ would be my bride, I agreed to this crazy plan of fake dating instantly!"

"It's good to know your reasons." She admitted and finally understood what Plagg had meant yesterday, when he'd said that the clock was ticking.

"And…" Adrien began, making Marinette feel nervous immediately. She knew he was going to ask about her reasons.

"Are you going or not?" Nino cut in irritably, leaning out of the car. "If you stay here a bit longer, we'll arrive at noon. Perfectly to meet _more_ tourists…"

"We're coming, you grumbler…" Adrien muttered, then opened the door before Marinette. "Your carriage awaits, M'Lady."

"Should I start calling you '_My Prince_' or what?" she joked, getting into the car.

"Only if I can call you '_Princess_' instead of '_My Lady_'…" he replied chivalrously and sat down next to her.

"Flatterer…"

"Geez, I'll die before the evening…" Nino murmured wryly, starting the engine.

Adrien and Marinette exchanged amused glances and chuckled. Although they both had been afraid of this trip, surprisingly they found themselves quite comfortable in their company. And the day seemed to be more interesting than they previously had expected…


	10. A nickname for him

The GPS informed them that they would reach Château d'Auvers-sur-Oise within an hour. They should use this time efficiently, because they were aware that three days given by Plagg weren't too much for all preparations they needed to make.

"I guess we should start from the reason why we kept our relationship secret." she began, trying to ignore Nino. "I think journalists will ask about it first."

"Really?"

"They always pry about a bombshell. They won't be interested in details at the beginning."

"You sound like a specialist in media issues." Adrien smiled.

"Well, I don't have too good experiences with the press…"

"Seriously?" he was surprised. He couldn't recall any scandalous articles involving LadyBug.

"There's especially one journalist who really hates me." Marinette sighed and looked through the window as if she remembered something from her past.

"But why?" Adrien asked intrigued, and Nino only pretended that he wasn't listening.

"It's all my pseudonym's fault. At the beginning of my career Tikki decided that I should have a stage name. You know, she's brilliant at her profession. She hid my identity so deeply that I was practically untraceable. And that made Alya mad."

"Alya Césaire?" Nino spotted, slowing down unknowingly. Marinette looked at him uncertain, as if she forgot about his presence.

"Yes. Do you know her?" she asked suspiciously.

"No." he replied shortly. "But we've had some problems with her once or twice…"

"So you know what I mean. Oh, if you saw her! Every single time we met at the press conference, she asked me a question that could help her to find my true identity."

"But you don't hide your name!" Adrien noted. "Yesterday you introduced herself as Marinette."

"Now it doesn't matter anymore, because my pseudonym has become a label itself. But Alya hasn't forgotten the beginnings, so she still pesters me at each press conference. She takes revenge on me for hiding my identity in the past."

"I can't believe she didn't find you. You know, on the street or something…"

"It wasn't so easy. My personal image differs from the professional one. That was another Tikki's idea to create an official LadyBug's image that would be recognisable."

"I don't follow."

"Every day I look like now. Jeans, T-shirts. Sometimes a dress… Usually I wear my hair up – a bun or ponytail. Or just hair down. On stage I wear two pigtails with red ribbons. And I always have a little ladybug on my cheek."

"But you still look like you."

"You'd be surprised how such details matter! I've met a lot of people who passed by me, glancing or even staring at me. And they always moved on, because they weren't sure if it was me or not. I guess they didn't want to accost a stranger or to feel foolish if they were wrong."

"I have to share this idea with Plagg."

"It's too late for you. You're too recognisable."

"I have to admit that your manager was unusually determined."

"She wanted to avoid a double marketing. You know, once they're talking about Marinette, the other time about LadyBug. She directed all the efforts to promote LadyBug to let people associate my face with that name."

"Like Madonna. Or Pink."

"I'm flattered, Adrien. But they're out my league."

"I mean a label of a pseudonym. Nobody remembers real names of those stars."

"That was what Tikki wanted to achieve for LadyBug. Of course, I'm not so arrogant to compare to such stars like Madonna or Pink. I'm not even a half of their talent…"

"You're at your beginning. There's a long way ahead."

"Tikki also repeats that I should sing more often in English. That in French I have no chance to be known worldwide."

"Look at Celine Dion."

"Adrien, please… Stop comparing me to another star!"

"I'm not comparing. Just try to inspire by their experiences. Celine Dion has promoted French songs all around the world."

"God, I feel like I was listening to Tikki right now." Marinette sighed. "Did you talk to her?"

"I think I've just said something obvious. I don't know why you don't want to accept a piece of advice. Especially when two people from your inner circle advised you the same."

"Let me remind you that you were included in my inner circle _yesterday_." she stated wryly.

"So?" he grinned.

"Never mind." she ended the discussion and added in a reserved tone: "Thank you for your advice. I'll think about it."

"You seem not to believe in your real position in the music market." Adrien commented.

"How did you figure it out?" she asked outraged. "After these few sentences I said? We've known each other since yesterday, My Frog!"

"Frog?" he spotted.

"You were to be a prince, but now I prefer to turn you into a frog!"

Adrien couldn't resist and burst out laughing. She fascinated him more and more. For fifteen or twenty minutes they had been chatting like good friends, she even shared quite personal afterthoughts with him. Yet became irritated and outraged as soon as he dared express his opinion on her career. She ended the discussion immediately, and he – instead of withdrawing from a dangerous minefield, felt like continuing teasing her. Weird. He'd never felt that way before.

"You would have to kiss me first, Princess…" he whispered in her ear that made her blush instantly.

"Now I'm so sure you talked to Tikki!" she replied irritably.

"Really? Did you ask her about how to turn a prince into a frog?"

"You don't want to know how this conversation looked like." she answered back, recalling the moment she had shaken herself in disgust. Yet… Kissing Adrien didn't seem so disgusting for her anymore…

"After what you've just said I can't wait to know all the details. Did you really ask your manager about kissing?"

"One more word, Adrien, and I promise I'll break our agreement!" Marinette warned. "Is he always like that?" she asked Nino who only chuckled in reply.

"Actually, he's never been like this before." he said after a moment, still focused on the road. "I think you awoke a beast in him."

"You think it's reversible?" Marinette frowned.

"Don't get it so seriously!" Nino advised. "It's only fake dating, isn't it?"

Marinette became speechless for a moment. She couldn't believe she let herself involve into that conversation so deeply that she forgot about this whole mystification. No wonder that Adrien had fun teasing her! She called herself to order and decided not to let him provoke her again. If he could turn on a mode of flirting, she could do the same. '_It's only fake dating_' – Nino said. And he was so right!

"OK then…" she began in a conciliatory manner. "If you're going to act as a playboy, I have to join the party, Kitty-Cat."

"I'm a cat now?" Adrien smiled.

"Do you prefer being a cat or a frog?"

"Do I have to be an animal?"

"Maybe a teddy-bear…"

"Again, an animal, or even worse: a toy…"

"Nino said I awoke a beast, so I'm trying to figure out what kind of animal you could be."

"Not every animal is a beast." he noted.

"And vice versa." she answered back.

"So, I suggest a cat. They are endearing, soft. They can purr and cheer you up…"

"They walk their own ways." Nino added. "They can leave the house and come after a week. It's not you, Adrien."

Marinette giggled.

"Cats have their own opinion and they are rather individualists." she completed the description. "Are you someone like that?"

Nino snorted meaningfully, and she knew instantly what that meant. This time she didn't laugh, especially when she saw pain on Adrien's face after his friend's reaction.

"Well… It's been just awoken. Who knows what I'll turn out to be?" he murmured.

She smiled at him and softly touched his hand.

"OK then. You'll be my Kitty…"

And he smiled back.


	11. The excuse

When Nino parked the car near Château d'Auvers-sur-Oise, Marinette sighed in defeat. She knew they'd had a whole hour to spend it on preparations. Meanwhile she managed to bore both men with stories about her career and she almost had a quarrel with Adrien. In result, they achieved no progress in developing their story before the '_great mystification_', as she named the project secretly.

"Not true!" Adrien disagreed as only she shared her disappointment.

"But we have nothing!"

"Nothing? What are you talking about?" he laughed. "We have nicknames. People in relationships usually give their partners some nicknames. You're My Lady, I'm your Kitty."

"Yeah, what an incredible progress!" she summed up ironically, but Adrien seemed to get used to her sarcasm.

"Secondly… You haven't even noticed but we succeeded in breaking a touch barrier."

"What?"

"When you touched my hand neither of us jumped up nervously. You have to admit it is an incredible progress comparing to yesterday." he grinned and she couldn't stop staring at him in astonishment. He was right. He was damn right. "Besides, you told me a story about your problems with a journalist which inspired me to figure out a perfect excuse why we kept our relationship secret."

He winked at her and got out the car. She couldn't be more intrigued. She didn't wait for him to open her door and she just jumped out.

"Which is?" she asked curiously.

"It's quite simple, Marinette." he approached to her and looked into her eyes. "After all those experiences with her when she was hell-bent on finding your identity, you didn't want to share news with anyone to protect our relationship. You'll knock the gun out of her hand before she uses it."

"It's genius in its simplicity…" she whispered. "Do you think it will work?"

"Why shouldn't it?"

"OK, and you? What's your excuse?"

Adrien frowned for a moment, and Marinette felt like they were close to something painful. At that moment Nino joined them and patted his friend on the back, saying:

"Your father… I think this excuse will be also genius in its simplicity."

"W-Why?" Marinette asked.

Was it just her, or were the things a little tense around there? A sudden silence between young men meant a secret they didn't let her into. Adrien had to realise that it was uncomfortable for her, because he cleared his throat a little embarrassed and muttered:

"It will be like kicking a hornet's nest, Nino… If my father finds out…"

"When, not '_if_'. He'll find out for sure. You can't hide it from him."

"But I can't use him as my excuse! That would mean no chances for this relationship!"

"_Fake_ relationship, Adrien!" Nino reminded meaningfully.

"The excuse must be believable." his friend shook his head. "I prefer a scenario with Alya Césaire."

"Which is?"

"I'll tell people that I wanted to respect Marinette's decision."

"They'll call you a henpecked boyfriend."

"Henpecked boyfriend _in love_." Adrien corrected in a significant tone. "That's our goal, isn't it? So, do you agree, Mari?"

"Mari?!" Nino spotted in astonishment.

"Yes. I agree." Marinette nodded.

"To…?"

"To henpecked boyfriend in love, to the excuse and… to '_Mari_' too…" she smiled shyly at Adrien.

"Great!" he smiled back at her. "So, let's go to visit the gardens. We'll plan our past."

"People say '_the_ _future_', dude." Nino commented.

"It's fake…" Adrien reminded his friend's words and winked at him. "Everything is in a reverse order, right? So, are we going?"

"I'm ready." Marinette said.

"Me too…" Nino added.

"Let's see those gardens."

"But…" Marinette hesitated. "Are we going inside as well?"

"If you want to, we may visit the exhibition. I didn't know you're interested in painting."

"Because you know me so well…" she muttered ironically. "For your information: yes, I like impressionists. They are very inspirational for me."

"Then let's save the exhibition for dessert, when we deserve the reward for hard work. Don't forget we came here to work."

"On our relationship." she added and he laughed.

"And they're back again…" Nino groaned.

"You do your thing." Adrien suggested, then he led Marinette in the direction of the gardens.

His friend only shook his head and followed them unhurriedly. He was used to be a shadower, but until now he had been focusing on surroundings and its dangers. This time he had to observe a girl who was walking next to Adrien. He still hadn't worked her out so she was a potential threat.

Nino was a great observer. He spotted some trifles immediately and they made him smile. Body language itself was so readable! For instance, Adrien who was walking with his hands in his pockets and Marinette with both hands hidden in the back. Yet, both leaned to each other as if they were involved in an intimate conversation. After some time his hands left pockets, and hers stopped being hidden at the back anymore. The couple stopped from time to time to talk and to enjoy the view. A few such stops later Nino saw clearly that sometimes Adrien's hand conveniently brushed up against Marinette's hand. Just to finally take her hand before they ended their walk…

'_Like children in the woods…_' Nino thought.

Yet, he kept away. He didn't want to hear their conversation. Adrien deserved at least that minimum of privacy. Besides… Body language of the couple was enough for Nino to make him sure that before these three negotiated with Plagg days were over, the whole plan with fake dating would fail.


	12. Work or passion

"Are you sure Nino won't be eavesdropping?" Marinette asked in whisper, when they entered the garden.

"I can rely blindly on him." Adrien smiled. "He'll keep away to let us talk comfortably, but close enough to chop off your head before you stab me in my back."

"What a picture!" Marinette laughed.

This joke overcame an awkwardness they felt every time they stayed alone. In addition, since the moment Adrien had made Marinette aware of breaking a touch barrier, she kept thinking about taking his hand again. To control herself she folded her hands in the back, just in case. By the way she noticed that he hid his hands in his pockets and she couldn't stop wondering if the reasons of that weren't similar to hers.

"Luckily for you, I left a knife in another purse…" she joked.

"What a relief!" he laughed. "But still I should be careful. You know, you may be a ninja or some assassin."

"Nah, you're a small fry, so revealing my assassin's profession wouldn't be worth it." she snorted theatrically.

"Good to know. So, I can remove martial arts from the list of your talents?"

"I wouldn't say so. My mom enrolled me once in aikido. She's always said that every girl should know how to defend herself."

"Wow…" he commented.

"Not a big deal." she shrugged. "Everyone can learn it. You could try. Then you wouldn't need a shadower anymore and Nino could stop pretending to be your bodyguard. You could be normal friends."

"He doesn't pretend. He's really good."

"Have you ever needed him? You know, in real life. I mean… Has anyone ever attacked you?"

"It's been a few times when someone overstepped the bounds of acceptable contact."

"What happened next? Did Nino chopped off their heads?"

"No knives, so all heads stayed where they were. But he could broke some bones. I didn't look."

"Oh, you're one of those sensitive…"

"It's rather about protect me from witnessing in case we were sued. I could always say that I saw nothing."

"No offense, Adrien, but it's wrong. It's like you were a coward."

"My father told me that I should do that. He wanted me to avoid troubles."

"But you would leave your friend in the lurch!" Marinette clearly didn't accept his excuse. On the contrary, it made her truly mad. "You couldn't even testify to help Nino in case of a lawsuit or even a penalty of imprisonment! Someone could accuse him of overstepping the limits of necessary defence!"

Adrien was staring at her in astonishment. He'd never thought about it that way. He had been taught to follow his father's commands without question. Nobody had told him that what he was doing was wrong…

"I think you're right…" he whispered after a while. "I'll have to learn to keep an eye on Nino."

"Learn?"

"You know… It's difficult to change your habits. Especially when your father spent years on teaching you how to behave."

"Geez, Adrien! It sounds like a training not a parenting!"

"I've never thought about it that way. My dad prefers a disciplined behaviour." he admitted.

Saying this he stopped at an arcade corner of the garden in front of Château d'Auvers-sur-Oise. He leaned against an arch support and although he put his hands out the pockets, he crossed them on his chest.

"What about your mom?" Marinette asked quietly, leaning against the other arch support.

"She died when I was a boy." He murmured, not looking at her but somewhere outside. "I've almost forgotten what she was like…"

"I'm so sorry… I didn't know…" she whispered, touching his arm softly.

"We don't know a lot of things about us. We were supposed not to apologise for that…" he reminded her, staring at her eyes.

Why his gaze suddenly became so powerful? Was it because she was touching his arm? She took away her hand immediately and looked away. Such things shouldn't happen! Not in such a situation. Not with someone whom she'd met yesterday. Not with someone with whom she was to _pretend_ being in a relationship. Not with _him_.

"What about your parents?" he asked, feeling he should say something to break this silence between them. He set off the wall and moved in the direction of a park behind the palace.

"They're both fine." she replied and followed him.

This time neither he hid his hands in pockets nor she folded hers in the back.

"Are you of Chinese descent for real?" he asked curiously.

"My mom is. My dad is French. Actually he's half-French half-Italian. My grandma is Italian."

"What a composition!" Adrien laughed.

"Explosive mixture…"

"I don't know that yet."

"In fact I'm as gentle as a lamb."

"Yeah, right!"

"Of course, I am!"

"You know what, Mari? Maybe I've known you since yesterday, but I've already learnt something about you. That you're rather an energetic person."

"I'll take it as a compliment." she muttered.

"Please, do." He smiled in reply and his hand conveniently brushed up against her hand.

Marinette felt a strange sensation in her stomach. A very similar to that one she'd felt at the moment when they looked in their eyes in the arcade. She was quite cautious about such emotions, because she was aware that they were going to prepare to act as a couple in love, so she shouldn't react that way on little gestures like those. She knew Adrien was doing that to make a fiction more believable. She kept repeating herself that she should get used to holding his hand, to hugging him, or maybe even kissing him in front of a camera… She should be as professional as he was. She was supposed to act as a woman in love. Not to fall in love for real!

She shook off those thoughts. She had to focus on the task!

"Since when have you sung?" he asked her at the same time when she was asking:

"Since when have you posed as a model?"

They glanced at each other and burst out laughing. That eased the tension and they could come back to their conversation.

"I don't remember when I started singing." Marinette admitted while they entered the park. "I think the music has been around me since forever. Probably I was singing before I learnt to speak. My parents must have been impressed enough or maybe they just wanted to have a few minutes of silence at home… Anyway they enrolled me in voice classes. I learnt there how to breath, how to control my voice, how to practice…"

"Practice?" Adrien spotted.

"I have to do some exercises of my vocal cords."

"How do you do it?"

"Oh, it's so boring!" she snorted. "Rumbling, murmuring, you know… Just a warm up."

"Can you show me?"

Marinette glanced at him sideways, but finally stopped and presented some of vocal exercises she had to do every day. It didn't sound like singing, yet Adrien couldn't take his fascinated eyes off her mouth.

"It's like you take out your voice from your mouth and hide it back again." he summed up, when they moved on.

"I learnt to control acoustic emission, air flow… Believe me, it took me so long to get it! Now it's much easier, but still boring…"

"Incredible…"

"Seriously?" she shrugged. "It's rather my work than passion."

"Singing?"

"Oh, no! Singing is passion! Those exercises are my donkeywork. But without it I wouldn't be able to sing at quality I do it now."

"Well, I'm impressed."

"And you? Modelling is more your job or passion?"

"Definitely my job." he winced slightly.

"Then why do you do this?"

"My dad…" Adrien began and realised again that his life was so subordinated to his father.

"Wow, you're really trained so well. You can do your work even though you hate it…"

"It's not like that. There are some advantages of it. I can travel a lot, visit different countries…"

"Right… Because you're poor and cannot afford travelling in a spare time…" she commented sarcastically.

"My father is rich, not me. Besides…" he hesitated.

"Besides what?"

"Besides I'm afraid I can't do anything else…" he confessed.

"Yeah, right!" she snorted. "You're an intelligent guy. It's impossible that posing as a model is your biggest ambition!"

"Modelling is not so easy, Princess!" Adrien laughed. "Nobody would pay for pictures of a model with a blank stare. You can show emotions by using your voice, melody, words. I have to do it by using my body language only."

"Uhm… I've never thought about it that way…" she whispered, noticing by the way that his hand brushed up against her hand again.

"I have to be like a chameleon, flexible. I cannot be the same all the time. It depends on the theme of a session or ad campaign. It consumes a lot of energy."

"You _do look like_ someone consumed, not consuming…"

"I take care of myself. Is it wrong?"

"Not at all. Do you eat sweets sometimes?" she winked at him, and this time it was she who brushed up against his hand.

"When no one's watching…" he confessed and winked back at her.

And then he took her hand.


	13. Sun King

Next morning Marinette run out the house with excitement she couldn't hide. Yesterday had been full of positive experiences, so she couldn't wait the next trip.

"Good morning, M'Lady!" Adrien greeted her.

"Good morning, Kitty!" she smiled in reply. "Did you sleep well after our walk?"

"Perfectly! I oxygenated, so I slept like a baby. And you? Didn't a summer breeze affect you?"

"Geez, what the hell that small talk means?" groaned Nino who got out the car. "Just dance a minuet to kill me faster."

"It's quite possible we'll dance a minuet." Adrien laughed.

"Really?" Marinette asked in surprise.

"I'm taking you to Versailles."

"What an idea!" she snorted. "There will be crowds in the palace!"

"We're going to the gardens. No chance to find us in such an area. We could even get lost in one of mazes and make plans."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you would like to do in mazes…" Nino muttered, and Marinette laughed although she knew that pretending of not hearing that would be more reasonable.

"We have two days left." Adrien continued undiscouraged. "We have figured out the beginning of our relationship, now we have to learn as much as possible about each other."

"And you're boring again…" Nino commented. "It's good that at least your girlfriend has a sense of humour, because there's no fun with you…"

Marinette giggled. She had already got used to Nino's taunts, especially after his yesterday contribution to the process of preparing '_their story_'. He was very helpful when Adrien or she had started to indulge in creating more and more incredible circumstances of their fake first meeting. Marinette liked how they had been working in the d'Auvers park on the counterfeit past. In result they had quite a possible story of meeting of two celebrities in a café. She felt a hint of jealousy that it hadn't happened for real. Somewhere deep in her heart she wished to meet Adrien that way…

"Just imagine Alya Césaire's face when she gets known that you run into me by accident in a café and didn't recognise a popular model in me!" Adrien had laughed, when they were going back to Paris yesterday.

"She'll roll her eyes and won't believe in that. She got used to that I'm lying to her."

"I'll convince her."

"Yeah, right… She'll look at you with her X-ray eyes and she'll ask suspiciously: '_And you just fell in love at the first sight?_'" Marinette tried to imitate the journalist's voice and look. Nino chuckled amused by the girl, although he kept his attention to the road.

"Of course, not!" Adrien joined the game. "I assumed that it's just another fangirl! But Marinette didn't behave like a fangirl. Rather like someone who didn't recognise me at all."

"Damn, you're good…" the girl muttered. "I'd buy it."

"See? The plan is perfect!" he smiled satisfied. "Leave it up to me and we'll be good."

Yes, she really wanted to believe him.

They kept laughing and joking all the way back home. They had had great time for the whole day and they made significant progress in the preparations. If they managed to work on details today, only trivia would be left for the third day. Marinette still felt terrified when she was thinking about the set-up planned by Plagg, yet she began to believe that with Adrien by her side everything would go smoothly.

"Versailles, folks!" Nino informed suddenly.

"Already?" Marinette was surprised.

Was it possible that she had been silent for the whole drive here? How could she miss the opportunity to learn something new about her boyfriend? Instead she was staring out of the window and thinking about yesterday, not paying attention to the fact that Adrien was holding her hand for the entire way and stroking her palm with his thumb.

"Let's go dancing the minuet, M'Lady." He smiled letting her hand go.

"Yeah… Minuet…" she muttered, feeling her cheeks burning.

Damn it. Damn, damn, damn… It wasn't good. It wasn't good at all! The more, Nino noticed her flush. That made her even more embarrassed.

She knew she had to regain her composure as soon as possible. First, she needed to drown out those strange emotions awakened by Adrien's warm smile. That was a complete nonsense! She'd known him for two days! She knew nothing about him. That was illogical, irresponsible and absolutely unacceptable!

"So, what's the plan?" she asked when they got out the car.

"Gardens, My Lady. To avoid crowds of tourists."

"They will be in the gardens too."

"I hope they'll be more interested in nature than in the other walkers. Besides, I must admit that today you look totally unlike LadyBug again."

"Yeah, I'm unrecognisable in this hat…" she muttered ironically.

"No, it's not that…" he shook his head and came closer to her. Then he reached to her hair and touched it softly. "Maybe it's because of hair down…" he whispered rather to himself than to her.

For a moment Marinette forgot how to breathe. Did he do it on purpose? Like yesterday with breaking a touch barrier? Or like today with stroking her palm for the whole drive to Versailles? She had no idea what the answer was. And she wasn't sure she could ask him about it.

"I explained that yesterday that my everyday look differs from my professional one." she said finally, when she remembered how to speak. "It's quite useful, especially on days like this."

"I wish I could do the same."

"You didn't have Tikki. She would take care of organising you some privacy. I'm so grateful that she thought about it in good time. I wouldn't even think that I'd need it in the future."

"That's why some people are singers and some other are their managers. You don't have to think about everything."

Suddenly, Nino appeared from nowhere and patted his friend in the back. Then he put a black cap on Adrien's head.

"Don't thank me, dude!" he muttered by the way and then he withdrew to a standard distance.

Marinette glanced at Adrien's cap and burst out laughing. Nino probably had bought it in one of souvenir shops, because for sure it was one of Versailles gadgets. Where else could he buy a cap with inscription saying "Sun King"?

"What's on it?" Adrien was intrigued, so he ripped the cap off and glared at his friend. "Very funny, really!"

"Bu-But…" Marinette was laughing. "It is…"

"What's so funny?" he glanced uncertain at her.

Marinette calmed down immediately. She cleared her throat and explained:

"When I saw you for the first time, you were standing at the window and the sun was shining in your hair. You looked like your head was in the sun. And now you're wearing a cap with inscription '_Sun King_'. Please, don't tell it's not funny for you."

Adrien smiled in reply. For a moment he'd thought she was making fun of him. Meanwhile it was an inside joke thing.

"Does it mean I've been promoted from a prince to a king?" he asked.

"You were a frog in between, remember!" she gave him a wink.

"Only if you kiss me, remember…" he smiled meaningfully, and she blushed again.

"Beware, frog!" she answered back, then turned her back and ran away in a direction of the gardens.

He laughed, put his new cap on his head and followed her. He found her quickly in the entrance to a maze, where she was standing and laughing so hard that she was bent in half. He had to wait for a moment until she calmed down enough to explain what was so funny for her.

"Well… You know what Nino said this morning about what you wanted to do in the maze…" she said finally. "But this maze is a fake. Look, you can't even hide or get lost there. You can see the other end through!"

"Maybe it's more complicated somewhere inside?"

"Do you want to lose your shadower?" she asked in whisper.

"He'd break my both legs when he finds me… I'm not taking that risk. Besides, we should work first before we start having fun."

"Nino was right. You're a terrible bore." She joked. "But… I have an idea how to combine fun and work."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll learn something about me, and we'll visit the maze."

"I'm in." he nodded.

She took his hand, as if it was something quite natural for her now, and she led him to the maze. Nino followed them, but he wasn't too enthusiastic about this trip. Too many shadows, corners, risks. Damn celebrities with their whims… In such moments he liked his job much less…


	14. In the maze

Marinette stopped at the first crossroads in the maze and turned around to Adrien. She reached for her phone and instructed him to do the same.

"Rules are simple." she said. "I'm sending you a question that can be answered '_yes_' or '_no_'. If you answer '_yes_' you'll go in the right. Otherwise you'll go to the left."

"How will I know that I was right?"

"I'll follow you, if your answer is correct."

"It's too easy. I'll get known after two steps that I was right."

"Not at all. I'll follow you when you've reached the next crossroads. If I don't, you'll have to come back."

"Interesting… OK. Let's go!"

"OK… Be prepared…" she whispered and wrote something on her phone.

Adrien checked the notification. '_Do I like animals?_' Seriously? She was asking him about something so obvious? Of course she liked animals! Yesterday she had been looking for an animal nickname for him. He would even dare say that her favourite pets were… Cats… He smiled under his breath and went to the right. Nino followed him instantly, and when he was passing Marinette, he glanced at her amused.

The girl was observing their walk, then she sighed and joined them. That was easy. For a good start.

"Next question, please!" Adrien grinned.

"Uh-uh!" Marinette shook her head. "Not talking!"

"Aha! You're upset because I've guessed?"

"Shhh…" she whispered and put her finger on his lips.

When he was trying to control astonishment and typhoon of emotions, she wrote him another question: '_Am I scared of thunderstorms?_'

Thunderstorms? She was asking him about it at such a moment?! She'd just touched his lips and now she was asking about thunderstorms?! '_It's only fake dating_' sounded in his head. He regained his composure and focused on the game. He went to the right with his bodyguard, and when they walked away enough, Marinette sighed with relief, because she also realised what she had done. She called herself to order immediately, because Adrien had just reached the next crossroads and looked at her expectantly. She raised her eyebrow and shook her head. He had to turn back.

"Really?" he asked, and she shushed him again. Yet this time she didn't touch his mouth – her hand hung in the air between them. They exchanged embarrassed glances and without a word they moved to the left.

'_Is pink my favourite colour?_'

Adrien hesitated. He'd been seeing her the third day in a row and she'd never worn pink clothes. Yet she chose that colour to ask him about her favourite one. A trick or a hint? He wasn't sure. He risked with a right way. And he had to turn back.

'_Green?_' – at the next crossroads was an obvious provocation, so he went to the left immediately. When she followed him, he smiled triumphantly. It seemed to him that he managed to work her out.

'_Golden?_'

That could be true. Girls like glimmer. But not this particular one. He backtracked again.

'_You're right, too garish. Silver?_'

Yes, silver was more likely her. He went in the right. And back to her – again. Marinette giggled.

'_Have you had enough?_' – she asked at the next crossroads. He laughed and turned left. She followed him immediately, not waiting for the end of the corridor.

'_How many colours do you have on your list?_' – he wrote while they were walking.

'_A few. Red?_'

He took an opportunity to think about it for a moment. She said she had more colours on her list, so red probably wasn't her favourite. On the other hand she could try to trick him again. Finally, red suited her perfectly. She was LadyBug after all.

He turned right, and she followed him.

'_Am I spontaneous?_'

Of course, she was! He went to the right and to his surprise – he had to turn back. That was unexpected. Why? She'd been participating in that crazy Plagg's plan, she'd agreed to trips to the great unknown, she'd suggested this game in the maze… How the heck she _wasn't _spontaneous?!

'_Do I like horrors?_' – she didn't let him wonder about the last question for too long.

No, she didn't look like a person who liked horrors. Yet, he had already assumed before that she was scared of thunderstorms. Adrien felt totally misled. He discovered she was good at bluffing. Nevertheless he trusted his intuition and went to the right.

'_Do I cry on movies?_'

For sure! He chose the right way instantly.

"So obvious?" she laughed as soon as she joined him.

"Shhh…" this time he put his finger on her lips.

'_Has anyone ever confessed me they love me?_' – Adrien read after a moment and supressed a gasp.

To the right? To the left? She was beautiful, smart and famous. She had to have crowds of admirers! So, he went to the right. She didn't follow him. When he came back to her and glanced at her in surprise, she only shrugged.

'_Have I ever been in love?_'

Oh, God! He wanted to talk to her right away! To get known why she'd chosen those questions. What she wanted to tell him through them. He still remembered Nino's '_It's only fake dating_' but he began to believe that maybe…

Which way he should choose? What if it was the right one? Would that mean someone from her past, or maybe…? Maybe him? He glanced helpless at her, but she looked away immediately. She didn't help him at all, so he turned to the left. Do or die. Besides, they'd known each other for only three days…

He didn't have to look back to know that she followed him. She stopped next to him, and he felt such a strong heartache, that he barely controlled it. She had never been in love. Neither in the past, nor _now_…

"Your turn, Kitty…" she whispered.

"Prepare for running, M'Lady…" he grinned to cover his disappointment that was completely irrational.


	15. A thin line

He had been in love! Marinette couldn't forget about it for the rest of the day. Even in the evening, after coming back home she was thinking about this discovery so intensively that she barely fell asleep. She still remembered it in the morning when she was preparing for the third day with Adrien.

Yesterday in the maze he had asked her similar questions that she had asked him before. And she had to run back and forth, because her answers mostly were incorrect. Finally, he sent her those two last questions, which she'd left for the end as well. When she in her naivete went to the left, she was wrong in both cases.

He had had someone. He had been in love once. And that someone confessed their love to him. So, why Adrien needed all this mystification if he had a beloved one? She was sure only about one thing – it wasn't Nino. Apparently, she was missing some information…

Why was she so moved by discovering a secret of his heart? He was almost a stranger for her! The news shouldn't spoil her day!

Even worse, she was aware that Adrien had noticed a change of her mood and became worried and sad. Was he afraid that she could take their fake dating too seriously? If so, she had to convince him at all costs that there was nothing to worry about! Even if it meant pretending for the whole day. Because that was the truth – she had to pretend that… Ugh! That wasn't a part of the plan! When and _how_ had it happened?!

She sighed in defeat, leaving these sorrows behind. She went out to meet Adrien, who – as usual was waiting for her, leaning against the car. He still looked concerned, as yesterday. That helped Marinette to recover composure. She had to dance to their tune.

"So, where we're going today?" she asked light-hearted.

Adrien glanced at her in surprise.

"Uhm…" he hesitated, but finished after a while: "Fontainebleau."

"Really?" she exclaimed, and this time she was excited for real, forgetting about her yesterday dilemmas.

"This time we're going to visit the palace."

"Oh, I've thought you're taking me to the forest!" she joked, but avoided his sight.

"Not today. Nino said that he had enough all that walking in the nature."

"Yeah…" his friend confirmed, as only he got out the car. "All those games in mazes were too much for me. One more and I'll let you get lost for real."

"But seriously…" Adrien continued, and Nino just rolled his eyes meaningfully. "I think that we've got quite a lot of details for our story, so we can have some fun now."

"I'm in!" Marinette smiled to herself. She knew that in the palace they wouldn't have time to talk about that change of her mood yesterday.

She didn't wait for her fake boyfriend to open her the door – just got inside quickly with a hope he didn't notice she wanted to avoid his touch or look into his eyes.

Adrien didn't even tried to catch her anyway. He had got so mixed messages from her that he needed a moment to understand what had just happened here. He felt that Marinette's ease was fake. On the other hand he had an impression that she'd been honestly excited to visit Fontainebleau. Well, girls could be so complicated!

He sighed heavily and got in the car. Although he was sitting next to Marinette, he felt as if a glass wall appeared between them. There was no option that he could take her hand like yesterday.

The drive through the city was like a nightmare. There was a perfect silence in the car, and the tension could be cut with a knife. Nino looked from time to time at the rear-view mirror just to notice Adrien's glances at Marinette, who kept staring outside the window and not saying a word. What the heck had happened in that maze? He had been with them for the whole time and didn't see anything alarming. They were writing messages to each other and running back and forth. Happy like children.

Suddenly they became quiet and gloomy, and nothing changed so far.

The silence in the car was more and more unbearable. Nino realised that if he had to spend the next hour like that, he would prefer to kill himself instantly. He decided to act unconventionally, so he turned in the direction of the nearest petrol station.

"Nino?" Adrien asked suspiciously.

"I'll refuel the car." His friend muttered. "You're both unpredictable, so I have to be prepared."

After those words he got out the car.

Marinette glanced at Adrien sideways, but when she met his eyes, she immediately looked away. Soon after Nino's head reappeared in the car.

"By the way, do you want anything to drink? Coffee? Er… Tea, maybe?"

Marinette felt uncomfortable. Adrien had to tell him the story about her argument with Plagg.

"Latte, if that's not a problem…" she whispered.

"Double espresso." Her partner added.

"Great. I'll be right back."

"Do you need help?" Adrien asked quickly.

"I'll manage." Nino replied and before he shut the door, he said: "Be good!"

Yesterday they would have probably laughed, but today the joke wasn't funny for neither of them. Marinette even became more upset. She glanced at Adrien, wondering why he didn't want to stay with her alone.

"You told him, didn't you?" she asked finally.

"Ab-About wh-what?" he stuttered embarrassed.

"About tea."

"Tea?" he repeated in astonishment, feeling a relief that she hadn't asked about something else.

"You know… That I drink tea." she muttered, still avoiding his gaze.

"Oh, no, I didn't tell him that. Plagg told him."

"He must have had fun…" she commented with a hint of regret, because she realised that she probably had made a fool of herself that day.

"Why?" Adrien was surprised, then discovered what was between the lines. – Plagg spoke very highly of you. I'd say that you impressed him then.

"I thought you were making fun of me." she admitted reluctantly.

"Nino just wanted to be nice for you…" he whispered and risked taking her hand. He saw her looking down at their palms, but still not at him.

"All right." she nodded.

"Can… Can we talk about it?" he asked uncertain.

"About what?"

"About what is bothering you."

She didn't answer immediately. Why had he asked her about that? She tried to pretend being cheerful and content, but it was getting harder and harder. She was close to break down and to start crying, confessing everything that was hidden deeply in her heart. No, she wasn't allowed to do that. '_It's only fake dating_' – she had to remember about that. So, she had no choice but pretend till the end.

"No." she finally replied and glanced at him.

She knew instantly that it was a wrong answer. She didn't have to see that frown on his face, as if she hurt him by her refusal. He released her hand and was about to withdraw, when she grabbed his palm and squeezed it, saying:

"It's about… I have to… No, I should put some things in order, you know?"

"Did I offend you somehow yesterday?" he asked carefully.

"What?" she was surprised. "How did you get that way?"

"I feel that something changed after our game in the maze."

"No, Adrien. You didn't offend me. I had great time, in fact." she admitted and added quietly: "Even too great sometimes…"

"I had great time too, Mari."

"Don't you think that it's a very thin line between the fake and the real things?" she asked suddenly, totally thoughtful, so she missed out his amazed look. "I've got lost a bit in all that…"

"I know that feeling. But you know what? I discovered something that could help you to solve that problem…" he smiled at her and gave her a wink, because he couldn't help being happy that she had shared her worries. And they weren't the kind he was afraid they could be.

"Well?" she finally looked at him.

"Just remember that we start our fake dating tomorrow, not earlier." He said smiling at her, and she answered with a smile immediately.

"Someone ordered coffee?" Nino interrupted suddenly, putting his two cups inside the car.

Adrien and Marinette broke their fascinated gaze and looked at their driver a bit dizzy. They reached for their coffee unconsciously, exchanging meaningful smiles by the way. Nino rolled his eyes as he turned away. He had a feeling that Plagg's perfect plan will fail even today…


	16. A truest first kiss

"Don't you think that they didn't know what to do with all this money they had?" Marinette asked, when she entered another wainscoted study with so richly decorated that she didn't even try to imagine the price of the interior finish. Not to mention a value of furniture!

"Well, they were rich, so they could afford it…" Adrien only shrugged.

"You know, maybe I'm not so wealthy, but I have some money. And I wouldn't spend such amounts on luxury."

"Nowadays we spend money on electronics and gadgets. They used to spend it on golden furniture. Here I'd say someone was partial to crystal chandeliers. Which weren't cheap for sure."

"When I recall the other palaces, I start to suspect that they had a kind of competition who would spend more on their houses. I mean their palaces."

"Probably you're right. Thanks to that we can have a pleasure of visiting those palaces and seeing those stunning interiors. Fortunately we don't have to live here…"

"You think you could live in such a house?"

"I guess not…" he admitted. "Too much of all that stuff. And it would be a long walk to anywhere. Just imagine that I'd want to ask you something. Do you have any idea how many kilometres I'd have to walk to find you in one of those rooms?"

Marinette suppressed those strange butterflies in her stomach awoken after those words. Intentionally or not, but Adrien had just described their possible future together. This morning he had told her that their fake dating would start tomorrow, so… Would it mean…?

"It would be easier to call me. And to install GPS on our phones." she replied after a moment.

"An option of sharing your real-time location would be useful. Otherwise we would look for each other for hours…" he added and she chuckled.

"Yeah, you could be lost here without a problem. I've already lost track of which room we've just visited, who lived here and what they were doing in it."

"I've heard it's a chapel there as well."

"I wonder if we manage to reach it before the evening…" she muttered ironically, passing an impressive staircase in a direction of another part of the palace. "Oh, God… It's another corridor…"

Adrien looked over her shoulder and chuckled.

"Do you want to watch those paintings and sculpture, or we're going directly to the Napoleon Bonaparte Museum?" he asked pointing out to the left.

"Not sure yet." she muttered. "I'm trying to count kilometres already made and how many there are ahead. Has anyone got a guidebook?" she asked, looking around for Nino.

And that was a moment she lost the ground under her feet.

Nino saw everything in a slow motion – as always when something was happening. The couple under his protection stopped in the middle of the corridor wondering about visiting the gallery or the Napoleon Museum. Suddenly a school trip left the museum and without looking around all those teenagers ran into Marinette and swept her off her feet. The more, they blocked Nino, so he couldn't reach the girl, despite the fact he moved to the rescue immediately, even before she began losing her balance.

Meanwhile Adrien reacted instinctively. He gripped Marinette, saving her from falling. At the moment, when he embraced her, it seemed to them both that the time stopped and the surroundings disappeared. For her – the world ended in his green eyes staring at her, and in his arms around her waist. Was it a reason why breathing became so difficult? For him – all he could see were her bluebell eyes, but when he heard her gasp he glanced at her lips and that was it. All he could think about was kissing her. Right here. Right now. Marinette ran out of breath when she noticed, what Adrien was staring at. Involuntarily she licked her lips, and he leaned in…

"Are you OK?" Nino asked suddenly, when he finally reached them.

They looked at him dizzy, as if they wondered where he came from and why he was there.

"Sorry for ruining your plan of keeping distance between you and me, but I can't let something like that happen again." Nino added, perfectly aware what he'd just ruined. "After all, your father pays me for protecting you, Adrien…"

"Sure, dude. Do your job…" his friend muttered, releasing – rather reluctantly – Marinette from his embraces. He glanced at her uncertain, still thinking about how close he'd been to kiss her. "Are you OK, Mari?"

"Safe and sound." she replied with a smile. "Thanks for the rescue."

"_Always_ at your service, M'Lady." Adrien grinned.

"I wish I could stay away from that…" Nino commented under his breath, and they only laughed.

"So? Napoleon Museum?" Marinette changed the subject.

"If you don't have a trauma after that school trip, we can go." Adrien agreed.

"No trauma. My ankles are fine. We can go."

"They probably didn't even notice who they ran into. I bet that a half of those kids are your biggest fans."

"Only a half?" she winked at him. "Anyway, you've got a proof that Tikki's methods are very effective."

"On the other hand if you weren't so incognito, you wouldn't have been trampled underfoot."

"Apparently there are disadvantages of looking like an ordinary girl…"

"You never look like an ordinary girl." Adrien denied, letting her pass. Yet, he couldn't help it and he touched her back by the way.

Marinette blushed, but said nothing. She focused on keeping her pace and on pretending to be very interested in the exhibition devoted to Napoleon Bonaparte. It was all about _pretending_ again! She watched every room, furniture and showpieces with unseeing eyes – her mind was busy with remembering the moment in the corridor before they'd come here. A line between true and fake dating had been fuzzy for a while already, and Adrien's words about pretending from tomorrow only complicated her judgement. Because… If it was real, that would mean that Nino had interrupted their truest first kiss.


	17. Game over

There was no chance to extend their trip to Fontainebleau. The more, they finally felt tired – not only after that day spent on walking through endless corridors and rooms of the palace, but also after the previous two days full of activity. So, it wasn't surprising that they were coming back to Paris in a complete silence. Nino stayed focused on the road, while Adrien and Marinette were just sitting next to each other, holding hands. He was stroking her palm, she was looking out of the window with a half-smile on her face.

She carried an exceptional souvenir from the palace. When she had been staring at an exhibition of porcelain, Adrien decided to buy her a tea cup – the most beautiful she'd ever seen. In fact, he bought two cups – the other for himself or to his place – and that was the reason she found it so special. By the way she had to accept his rebuke that she'd been partial to some kind of luxury, but corrected him jokingly that at least they weren't to crystal chandeliers.

When they returned to the city, Marinette felt a hint of sorrow that it was the end of their fun. Those three days were fulfilled with emotions and experiences, so she regretted that she had to end this chapter of her life. Suddenly she discovered that they didn't turned to her house. She glanced at Adrien, so he smiled embarrassed and muttered:

"I thought we could celebrate the end of our three-day-mission. Can I buy you a drink?"

"Of… Of course…" she whispered, trying to calm down.

Had Adrien just _asked her out_?!

"Great!" he smiled.

Soon they reached one of popular clubs. They entered without problems, although a bouncer seemed to recognise them. He smiled under his breath aware that starting from tomorrow the club would become a hot spot, if people learned that _the_ Adrien Agreste was visiting that place.

"I get a feeling I've been here already…" Marinette admitted when they sat down in one of boxes. "I think I performed here once."

"I'm sure I've never been here before." Adrien confessed. "I don't go out too often."

"Oh, right… I forgot about your training."

"You don't know my father. He's… Er… It's difficult to stand out against him."

"I have the same with Tikki. When she's determined, there's no chance to make her change her mind."

"No, it's different. My father has a plan and I have to realise it. Without question."

"You're right. At least I can negotiate with Tikki."

"Or fire her…"

"What?!" she exclaimed with reproach. " Tikki? Never!"

"But if she makes you do things you don't want…"

"No, it's not what you're thinking! I would be lost without her. I wouldn't survive even five minutes in this world. She's smart. And she knows show business very well." Marinette explained.

"You trust her for everything, don't you?"

"Of course. She's never let me down."

"But… Mari… She wanted you to date a stranger for fame. It could be someone slimy or pervy, or – as you thought – gay. For fame! And you let her do it!"

"I'm not proud of it. But she can be so stubborn… Besides… Oh… You'll be laughing at me now… But…"

"But what?"

"You know… I believe in signs. When Tikki told me that you had come to her first, I thought that maybe I was meant to help you to make your life better…"

"Just because you felt an internal need to help someone?" he asked in doubt. "No, such things don't happen. Sorry, Mari, there are no such people."

"I knew you wouldn't believe me…" she shrugged. "Think what you want. I don't care!"

"You do care!" he reminded her. "You care about what people think about you."

"If they don't know all facts. But I told you the truth. If you don't believe in it, it's your problem, not mine."

Adrien glanced at her thoughtful, then he whispered:

"You're incredible, you know that?"

"Yeah, right. Everyone's telling me that…" she waved her hand, still hurt by his words.

"You should change your stage name for Miraculous Ladybug."

"Anything else?" she asked ironically. "I know! I'll add: Adrien Agreste's!"

"Should I take it as the proposal, M'Lady?" he laughed.

"Sure, why not? We've known each other for three days. I think it's enough. At least you wouldn't end up as Adrien Bourgeois."

"So, there are altruistic reasons again, huh?" he gave her a wink.

"Of course!" she joined the game. "Yet… In this case I have to admit that I'm a bit selfish. I will have beautiful children with you."

"I've thought people want to have – first and foremost – _intelligent_ children."

"They will inherit intelligence from me. And beauty from their father."

"They still can be beautiful from you, you know?" he smiled at her.

And suddenly they both became serious. It wasn't funny anymore. Not in those circumstances, when they were a day before starting all that fake dating… Tomorrow would be a very important day. Plagg's set-up. The big reveal of their secret relationship. Their fake relationship…

"Uhm… Mari?" Adrien asked after a while.

"Yes?"

"Can I have dance with you? Before we start pretending…"

"Sure, Adrien. With pleasure…"

She let him lead her to the dancefloor. When he embraced her, she recalled that moment in Fontainebleau when he had caught her. All butterflies came back and that was frustrating in case when she was about to start pretending to be in love, instead of actual pretending otherwise. She sighed and gave herself over to the music.

"I wish it wasn't the end…" Adrien whispered in her ear.

She smiled and wrapped her hands around his neck. He pulled her closer and couldn't resist from braiding his hand in her hair.

"We can't postpone Plagg's set-up on forever… - she whispered in his neck, and he felt dizzy because of her breath on his skin.

"I don't want to pretend tomorrow…" he confessed determined, kissing her cheek by the way.

She looked up and stared at his eyes. She felt warmth at the spot he kissed. She gasped when glanced at her lips. Adrien followed the impulse and kissed her as he'd wanted to do for those last few days. Actually, from the moment they'd met.

And she kissed him back.

x x x

Nino smiled under his breath, sipping his non-alcoholic drink. So he was right. He turned away satisfied, and immediately tensed. That was her. Alya. Alya Césaire. She approached to him with a mysterious smile, and he became cautious.

"Hello, Nino!" she greeted him.

"Alya…" he replied coldly.

"You're still mad at me?"

"I'm not going back to that." He muttered and stepped back.

She could smile all she wanted, but he wasn't going to be fooled again. Besides, he was aware that her presence in the same club where Adrien and Marinette were kissing, wasn't a good sign. He would be naïve if he thought she hadn't noticed that. The more, she had to have a good reason to come to him. A very good reason, because the last time they'd talked he told her clearly that he didn't want to see her again.

"Let's dance, can we?" Alya suggested, stroking his arm.

"What do you want?" he asked instead.

"Oh, Nino. Why are you so official?"

"You know why."

"You can ruin all the fun!" she winced. "All right. I don't want too much. Just a little comment. You know, I need a starting point."

"I knew it." he muttered and shook her hand off his arm. "You'll never change…"

Before he turned away, he caught her surprised look. Maybe it was an illusion or wishful thinking, but he had an impression that there was a hint of regret in her eyes. He abandoned that thought immediately. _Everything_ can be faked. He was sure about it.

He approached to Adrien and Marinette and patted his friend in his back, saying:

"We're leaving!"

"What?" they both asked in astonishment.

"Now!" Nino ordered and led them outside.

Without a word of explanation he made them get in the car and left in a rush. Adrien exchanged glances with Marinette, but they didn't ask about anything. In a complete silence they reached the girl's house.

"I'll walk you home…" Adrien whispered and got out.

When they came to the door, both hesitated. Neither of them wanted to be parted. Too much had happened today. Or a moment ago. They still had so much to say! But Nino honked meaningfully to hurry up their goodbye.

"So… See you tomorrow…" Adrien whispered touching her cheek.

"Tomorrow…" she replied in a whisper.

He kissed her cheek and went back to the car quickly, as if staying longer would make him change his mind. He knew that if he kissed her again, he wouldn't go back home. But from tomorrow… From tomorrow…

He sighed happy when he got in the car. His friend looked at him gloomy.

"Will you tell me what happened?"

"Home." Nino muttered. "We'll talk about it at home."


	18. A failure

Adrien had bad feelings. What could have happened and ruined his friend's good mood? Only one woman in the world was able to do that, but it was absolutely impossible to meet _her_ in that club. Unless they were extremely unlucky. So, what could cause that sudden rush in leaving the club?

"Maybe it's not so bad as we think?" Adrien muttered under his breath while heading for his room. His friend only glanced at him sideways as if he was wondering how someone could be so naïve.

The answer was sitting on the couch in Adrien's room and its name was Plagg who apparently had been waiting for their return.

"Welcome onboard Titanic, kid!" the agent greeted wryly.

"What the heck?" Adrien was surprised.

"We're sinking. And I'm afraid that there's no rescue boat for us."

"What are you talking about, Plagg?"

"Our favourite journalist managed to take a photo…"

"You promised to wait with the set-up!" Adrien glared at his agent.

"I have nothing to do with that!" Plagg raised his hands as if he surrendered. "The photo was sent to her publisher a half hour ago. Fifteen minutes later it was on your father's desk. I got known about all this five minutes ago."

"But… It's what we wanted to achieve, right?"

"Yeah… Something like that. But we didn't plan that Alya of all journalists in the world would be the one who'd catch you. And… We didn't foresee that your father would go mad…"

"You said that my dad would stop worrying."

"Yeah, about your orientation. Yet, he started worrying about your choice. I'm afraid he won't be happy unless you marry the mayor's daughter."

"But why Alya was there?" Adrien wondered and unintentionally glanced at his friend.

"Don't look at me!" Nino replied in reproach. "Hell would freeze over before I'd call her!"

"Maybe Marinette's manager sped things up?" Plagg muttered.

"It wasn't _her_ who was talking about the time…" Adrien remembered.

"Why are you so sure?" the agent replied sarcastically. "I've got known that they're leaving tomorrow."

"What do you mean: _they're leaving_?!"

"Exactly what I said. They have a charity concert or something. Apparently she discovered that singing for needy can bring more advantages to her little star…"

"Don't you dare insult Marinette!" Adrien growled.

"Sorry…" Plagg muttered.

That was something new. He had never apologised before! Usually he extricated with a sarcastic comment and continued his work. His behaviour was at least alarming now, so Adrien glanced at him concerned.

"Did you…?" the model began, but didn't dare asked him a direct question about a nature of his relationship with Tikki.

"You'd better pack." Plagg cut the subject. "Tomorrow you're having photoshoots in London."

"What do you mean: photoshoots? And in London?! What the he…"

"Adrien?" a cold voice interrupted their argument. It was Nathalie, Gabriel Agreste's assistant. As usual, she emerged from nowhere. The young man cursed under his breath, but immediately turned around in her direction. "Your father wants to see you."

"I'm coming…" he replied reluctantly, then he glared at Plagg. The moment of paying checks. Now, he'd reap the harvest of that stupid plan.

Adrien followed Nathalie trying to calm down, but the panic was overwhelming. As soon as he entered his father's office, he noticed a printed photograph on his desk. A picture of him kissing Marinette.

"What's that, son?" Gabriel Agreste drawled in a cool voice.

"I can explain that, father."

"Then do it. I'm listening."

"That's my girlfriend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Why haven't I met her yet?"

"Uhm… Because…" Adrien lost a concept.

"_Who_ is that girl?"

"She… She's a singer."

"A brand new star, who decided to help her career by a relationship with my son!" Gabriel yelled irritably, and Adrien realised immediately that his father had already worked out the mysterious girl from the photograph.

"She doesn't do that!"

"Of course she doesn't. _I won't let her_ do that!" Gabriel laughed ominously. "That's over, son. Whatever you wanted to achieve, I don't approve it."

"But, father…"

"Your phone!" Gabriel reached for Adrien's smartphone.

"I'm adult, dad. And…" the son began, but his father's look made him be quiet and obedient. Years of discipline – or a training, what Marinette had called it… - yielded result, and he gave in instantly.

"My son won't be dating some singers. We'll find you an appropriate wife. No more stupid girls. Now, focus on your work. Tomorrow you're flying to London."

"But, dad…"

"That's all, son. Goodnight."

Then Gabriel turned away, sending a message that the discussion was over.


	19. Bad news

Marinette was staring into space outside the window of the plane rushing along the runway, but she could barely see anything there through tears in her eyes. The window was covered with raindrops, as if it sympathised with her despair. She had been struggling with tears all day, but she felt tired of keeping from crying. Too many emotions gathered in her heart not to vent them finally. However the plane wasn't the perfect place to burst into tears. Who knows how the rest of passengers would react? What if they panicked onboard?

That proved again that Tikki always knew what to do. She'd chosen most crowded places to keep her protégée from breaking down. Because sinking into despair was the only thing Marinette had wanted to do since breakfast. Since the moment when all her hopes had been ruined.

At first, she hadn't suspected anything worth worrying, when her manager visited her early in the morning. She didn't notice Tikki's pale face nor concerned look.

"Hello, my dear…" the manager greeted in a saddened tone.

"Something happened?" Marinette asked, while eating croissant.

"I have some news."

"Give me the bad news first."

"_Both_ are bad." Tikki said and put a tabloid on the table.

There was a huge photograph of Marinette and Adrien's kiss on the frontpage accompanied by a headline announcing the reveal of a secret relationship of two celebrities. The girl shrieked in horror and grabbed the newspaper. She found the article and she scanned it quickly. The title '_Ladrien ship at the harbour_' and initials of AC could mean only one person – Alya Césaire.

Marinette gritted.

"And the second bad news?" she asked in whisper.

"The contract has been cancelled."

"But… Wh-What ha-happened?" the girl stuttered. That was worse news, for sure.

"It seems that things have gone too far. I received a call…" Tikki hesitated for a moment, then cleared her throat and continued: "A call from Adrien's agent and he informed me that the goal had been achieved, so continuation of the play was pointless."

Saying that Tikki avoided the girl's eyes. She concealed from Marinette the information who else had called her this morning.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have agreed on that plan." The manager admitted.

"It's not your fault…" Marinette whispered and put her hand on Tikki's shoulder to comfort her. "We all have known from the beginning what was a purpose of that whole play. No one could foresee that…" she stopped suddenly, but they both knew what she wanted to say.

That was in the morning. Soon after they packed and went to the airport. Tikki bought some plane tickets to Nice and before they reached the airport she managed to add Marinette as a singer at a charity concert before the International Music Market Midem. Some time ago they had planned to join that show, but they were postponing the journey because of the agreement with Plagg. Now, it didn't matter anymore.

At the airport Marinette tried to call Adrien, but his phone apparently was turned off. Nino was also unavailable. She could also call Plagg, yet Tikki forbade her, only telling her that it would be a mistake which could finish them all. Nothing more.

However, all those fears and hidden threats that Tikki didn't want to share led Marinette to the only one logic addressee. The young singer knew the world well enough to guess who was so powerful to make her dauntless manager leave Paris immediately. With her protégée onboard. Gabriel Agreste apparently didn't approve his son's choice.

Marinette sighed sad, and Tikki glanced at her in concern. Maybe she should give her that damn number to Plagg? No, she abandoned that thought instantly. That would be a business suicide. The career of the young singer would be ruined within five minutes. The main task of every manager was to protect the business of their clients. Even when a broken heart was a price.

The plane sped up, and raindrops on the window started passing at a slant – almost horizontally. Marinette left her sad thoughts and focused on a take-off. She always tried to sense when an aircraft left the ground. And usually she managed to feel the right moment, as if she was a pilot herself.

So, they were in the air already. Just a last noise of hiding the landing gear and she could relax now and admire the view of the city below. Suddenly a thought occurred to Marinette that maybe everything that had happened was exactly what should have happened. Maybe leaving Paris behind was the right thing now? Maybe she should forget about those three magical days? Maybe those three days were all she could hope for?

Yet, at the bottom of her soul she felt that despite all that fake dating, something between Adrien and her was true. And it was impossible that it ended so suddenly and senselessly.

She smiled under her breath, when the plane passed the layer of clouds and the sun dazzled her. It didn't matter anymore that there was raining on the ground. Wasn't that true that a day came after the night and the sun broke through clouds after rain?


	20. A helping hand

It wasn't the first press conference in LadyBug's career, but definitely the worst one. Just before the meeting the girl had had bad feelings, however she attributed her anxiety to the latest events in her life. She had always felt unsure during meetings with journalists, because she was aware that usually they are intelligent people, thirsty for information – the more sensational the better. She had to keep being on her guard for the whole time, even though Tikki had trained her how to deal with uncomfortable questions.

Before Marinette entered the conference room, she took some deep breaths, repeating herself that there were no reason to be afraid of. Who cared that two days ago some tabloid had published a photo with her and Adrien. They both were single, nobody cheated on anyone else… Yeah, right… Everyone in that room cared about that news! They would ask about it for sure! Fortunately, Tikki had prepared her for such questions, so Marinette had some ready answers that would help her direct journalists' attention to the new LadyBug's album and a future tour.

OK, sink or swim!

As usual, spotlights dazzled her, when she walked in, but she was too experienced to blink. She wore LadyBug's professional smile and sat down at the conference table. She knew the host of the meeting very well – Michel Lapin had already compered some of her previous press conferences. She hoped he wouldn't let all those vultures eat her for brunch. Especially the one whose red hair Marinette recognised immediately.

Alya…

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Ladybug's press conference!" Michel greeted the journalists. "We appreciate that so many of you accepted our invitation. Before we start with questions from you, our star would like to announce something important. The floor is yours!"

Marinette smiled at him gracefully. She felt the knot in her throat loosened a bit. She brought a microphone closer, folded her hands and looked straight at the journalists. Just like she'd trained with Tikki. She was to seem self-confident and at ease. Pretending. Again pretending…

"Good morning!" she greeted. "Thank you very much for coming. It's a privilege to be here, at the leading trade show in the music industry. I'm happy to be a part of this event by joining one of the concerts at Midem. That's an honour." She stopped for a moment before she proceeded to the actual part of her announcement. "We invited you here today, because I wanted to share some great news with you." Again she made a pause, and she observed some stir in the room. Dictaphones and smartphones were turned up, cameras were zoomed at her face. The journalists held their breath. '_Oh my God, Tikki is genious!_' came through Marinette's mind. Then she spoke again: "This morning I signed a contract with Sony Music Entertainment. We're going to release my first English album soon."

That was a bombshell, but not the one they'd expected. All hands raised and Michel began doing his job.

"Monique!" he chose one of the journalists in the first row.

"Monique Dubois, '_Popstar_' magazine. Have you already decided what kind of music you'll record on your first English album?"

"I don't think we're going to change my style." Marinette replied. "I'd like to record English covers of my biggest hits. We'll be looking for new inspiration as well."

"Are you going on tour after releasing your album?" Monique added one more question.

"Definitely. But it's too early for details."

The journalist nodded and wrote something down. Meanwhile Michel chose another one.

"Jacques?"

"Jacques Martin, '_La Musique Populaire_'. How the tour will influence on your private life?"

"Similarly as all my previous tours." Marinette smiled despite the fact she tensed inside. They were entering a slippery slope, so she needed to stay focused and to use all Tikki's hints to turn the attention away from Adrien.

"Your life's changed a bit recently…" Jacques commented, which was followed by a meaningful snort of Alya Césaire who was sitting right next to him.

"I think I'll manage to deal with that." LadyBud replied in a cold tone. But if she thought that would be enough to close the subject, she was wrong. A second later the red-haired journalist's hand raised.

"Alya?" Michel chose her.

"Alya Césaire, an independent blog. Two days ago the fashion and the music industries were thrilled with the news of your secret relationship with Adrien Agreste…" she began, savouring the words, and that made Marinette mad. "Is it true that your hot yet short-living romance was ended by Gabriel Agreste himself?"

She was damn good! But Tikki was better – she'd foreseen that question.

"This is a question for Mr. Agreste, not for me."

"So, you admit that your relationship is history now?" Alya spotted.

"None of a kind. All I'm saying is that I cannot answer questions that should be asked to someone else."

'Was that romance intended to cover the fact that Adrien is gay?"

"Again, it's not a question for me to answer." Marinette answered back and glanced at Michel hoping that he would choose another journalist to start their questions. However the host and the rest of people gathered in the conference room were too focused on that word fencing between her and Alya.

"So, what was a purpose of your relation?"

"Why are you looking for a hidden intention for everything?" Marinette replied with a direct question and looked straight into her opponent's eyes. "Why everything must be connected with show business? Do you even believe in true love?"

Alya gasped and blushed suddenly. Another journalist took the opportunity and raised his hand.

"Philippe?" Michel pointed him.

"Philippe Delacour, '_Pop Musique_'. I have a question. Was your contract related to the latest visit of Adrien Agreste to London?"

Marinette felt lost. She didn't know anything about any Adrien's trip to England. Suddenly she discovered an important gap in Plagg's plan – they hadn't exchanged their schedules. Now they would be caught not knowing answers about the past or the nearest future. If the agreement between them would be still valid.

"I don't think so…" she said carefully. "I guess that a company such important in the music industry wouldn't follow anyone's pleading in the process of choosing new clients. I do hope that I've earned the contract with Sony by myself. By my hard work."

"Damien?" Michel chose another journalist.

"Damien Moreau, '_Le Journal de Nice_'. Isn't it like your alleged relationship helped to sign the contract?"

"Alleged?!" Marinette exclaimed with reproach, forgetting for a moment about staying indifferent to the emotions.

"Well, it's a bit a coincidence that your secret romance was revealed soon before the contract with Sony."

"That's the question to your colleague…" Ladybug cut the subject, glancing at Alya. "I can't imagine that such a complicated agreement would be prepared within two days."

"Camille?"

"Camille deWitt, '_Le Monde de la Musique_'. If your relationship is so serious, why Adrien isn't here with you?"

Ouch, she found a weak point. Marinette felt that all her seeming self-confidence disappeared and she began panicking. Her heart skipped a beat and her hands sweated.

"We… We have some obligations…" she replied with difficulty.

"But… You miss him, don't you?" Camille asked with a sly smile on her face.

"Very much…" Marinette whispered, feeling that her eyes filled with tears. "Excuse me!"

And she ran away, leaving excited journalists behind. They got a scoop they wanted.

x x x

_**A/N: All names and titles of magazines or newspapers are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**_


	21. Independence

Adrien hated London. He always had a feeling that everyone made fun of him here. Of his look, of his accent, of his father. And that weather… So depressing. Yet, he hated hotels the most. The hotels that his father always chose – the most expensive, the most luxurious, in the best quartiers. Even now Gabriel Agreste had managed to find a suite in a five-star hotel almost by the River Thames. Of course, it had to be with a view of the river and of the London Eye. Just perfect for a lonely man to make him feel even more lonely.

It had been two days since Adrien had left Paris, yet he still felt restless. He couldn't sleep at night, he walked like zombie during the day. Even this morning he woke up before dawn. He was more and more convinced that he'd made a huge mistake when he'd given his phone in after his first – not so fake! – date with Marinette. Yet… Was it true? The longer he was thinking about it, the more unsure he was about it. Why hadn't she contacted him yet? Why hadn't she accepted flowers from him? Did he miss something?

He escaped to the balcony, placing a cup of coffee on a table instantly forgetting about it. He leaned against a railing and stared at the dawn above the city. He felt like an animal trapped in a cage. The animal that had been awoken by Marinette, according to Nino's words a week ago. A week ago! Adrien laughed at himself. He'd met her eight days ago. _Eight_ days ago! After three days he couldn't imagine his life without her. Now, he'd already known how this life would look like. It sucked.

"No better?" Plagg asked quietly, when he entered Adrien's suite after breakfast.

"He's been there since dawn." Nino replied, pointing at the balcony.

"Honestly, I had no idea it would look like that. Was it so serious?"

"I don't know…" Nino shrugged. He didn't feel allowed to share such intimate details with Adrien's agent, even if he seemed to be on the same side. "Probably. Yet, still hard to believe it."

"Right! I didn't know such things can happen."

"Me neither." the bodyguard muttered.

Suddenly Adrien left the balcony and came back to the living room. He scowled at his friend and sat down on a couch.

"Today you have photoshoots." Plagg reminded, exchanging glances with Nino.

"OK." That was all they heard in reply.

"You have to pull yourself together, kid."

"Fine."

"But I can see it's not fine!" the agent exclaimed irritably.

"I don't care."

"Better start to care! Take a shower, eat something. I'll be back in thirty minutes." Plagg commanded and left the suite.

"I'll go for breakfast then." Nino said, following the agent. "Just don't do anything stupid."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Adrien asked in surprise but no one heard him. His friend had already left.

He stayed alone and the silence was unbearable! He turned on the TV just to have anything speaking to him. Whatever. Maybe taking a bath wasn't a bad idea… Actually, he felt better when he came back to the living room after a quick shower. A speaker on TV was still chatting, and Adrien muted him. The silence was bothering him, but that babbling was worse. Then he saw his face on the screen and felt more irritated. He was sick of all those rumours about him, and it looked like another news about him. He was about to turn off the TV, when his attention was drawn by the following part of the news. He saw Marinette running out the room full of journalists. What had happened there?

He rewound the programme. And sat down in shock.

He remained motionless when his agent came back after some time. The situation terrified Plagg, but as soon as he wanted to take the remote control from the model's hand, Adrien revived.

"I'm flying to Nice." he announced.

"You must be joking!"

"Just watch it!" the young man commanded and left the living room. He found his suitcase and began packing himself. After a few minutes his agent entered the bedroom.

"Calm down. You have photoshoots in couple of hours."

"You'll reschedule it." Adrien stated, still packing.

"How do you know it's not a manipulation prepared by her manager?"

"I just know. You can't pretend that."

"I'm not so sure, kid."

"I'm going. Buy me a ticket. And call me which airport I'm flying from."

"You're unbearable! What happened?"

"Nothing happened. I'm just sick of this life. Of this _stagnation_. For the first time in my life I know exactly where I want to be. And it's not because my father said so…" Adrien admitted and added under his breath. "Actually, for the first time I'll be somewhere totally _against_ his will."

Plagg hesitated, but only for a moment. That was enough to consider all pros and cons. In case of emergency decisions must be taken quickly. Hopefully, the correct decisions, of course… Besides, Nino was right – the agent was on their side.

"But don't think you're so smart. Nino is going with you." Plagg informed the model.

Adrien glanced at his agent gracefully. He smiled warmly and said:

"Thanks, Plagg. Just take care of everything here. I'm counting on you."

"Next time I come up with a stupid idea, I'll think twice…"

"It wasn't stupid. It was brilliant! And I'll be thankful for that for the rest of my life."

"Yeah, that means for not so long, when your father finds out."

"It's going to be all right. Think positively."

"Why on earth you had to choose this moment to start living on your own?"

Adrien smiled under his breath. He was aware that his father would get mad, but he didn't care. Reaching Marinette was his priority right now. He took his suitcase and went to the door. Before he left he turned back and asked:

"Could you call her manager? I have to find her somehow, and I wouldn't like to force my way through a crowd of her fans…"

"Sure, kid…" Plagg muttered.

He waited for Adrien's leaving and only then he rolled his eyes and murmured '_Eh, that love_…'


	22. The concert

Marinette felt like her head was about to explode soon. She couldn't despair anymore! After the press conference she'd been crying for an hour or so, and no words could comfort her. She was aware that despite the perfect preparation, she had let the journalists to catch her off guard. If Gabriel Agreste watched that interview, he would do everything to prevent any contacts between her and his son.

Now was the moment to pull herself together. She was to go onstage in a minute. Fans were waiting for her performance, shouting '_LadyBug, LadyBug!_' She couldn't let them down just because she was broken-hearted. But how was it possible to find any enthusiasm in herself if her soul was crying – just like the sky above Nice…

Tikki glanced at her concerned.

"How do I look?" Marinette asked unsure.

"Perfect." the manager replied. "Remember, you're LadyBug!"

"Thanks! See you on the other side!" she joked as usual before each show since the beginning of her career.

"Break a leg!"

Marinette entered the stage and the crowd welcomed her enthusiastically. She loved that energy of her fans. It always gave her wings to fly. She instantly felt like she was in her element again. Like she transformed into her alter-ego.

"Who ordered the rain in Nice?!" LadyBug shouted.

Hundreds of screams answered her.

"Are you ready to have fun with us?!"

Another eager yell made her sure that people didn't care about the rain. They'd come here to spend the evening with her.

LadyBug smiled at her band and nodded. Just before the concert, when they'd seen what was happening with the weather, they decided about a slight change in the programme of the show. Instead of the usual beginning they chose "In the rain". After the first tones they immediately knew it was a brilliant idea. The fans shrieked even louder as soon as they recognised the song.

Marinette felt it would be a successful concert. She borrowed the positive spirit from the crowd and she was able to forget about her sorrows for a moment. It was something mystic in her relation with her fans. And even that rain had a purifying, salutary influence on her soul.

Singing was her therapy, but she was aware that the better mood would last as long as the show. That was the reason she didn't want to end this evening yet. She asked her band to sing two more songs that hadn't been planned, despite the fact her musicians wanted to play only one encore – the obligatory one that was the biggest hit of LadyBug.

"They've come here to spend time with us…" the singer tried to convince the rest of the band. "They've been soaking in the rain for more than two hours. Let's do it for them. To thank them…"

Everyone knew she was right. After all, the fans sacrificed a lot, not only money spent for tickets. They owed them at least those two songs more.

Yet, before the last encore Tikki stopped Marinette.

"You'll catch a cold…" she warned.

"Just one last song…" the girl repeated stubbornly, listening to her fans' shouts. "We always perform it at the end. They will leave disappointed if we don't play it."

"I beg you don't do anything stupid there!"

"I won't jump from the platform, I promise…" Marinette smiled and came on stage for the last time this evening.

The crowd reacted cheerfully, as always. And LadyBug wanted to stay here with them, forever.

Paul began playing the intro to her most popular ballad "I've finally found you" and Marinette – despite her promise given to Tikki – felt an urgent to jump to her fans and just vanish in the rain. Instead, she sat down on the edge of the platform, and a thought about her manager's heart attack occurred to her instantly. The rain was flowing down her hands and legs. But it was a good and warm rain. It was washing away the grief that had fulfilled her heart. Even though she knew all those sad feelings would come back to her as soon as she finished the concert.

She began singing, swaying with her fans. Usually people turned on their smartphones during this song and LadyBug sang watching an ocean of moving lights. But today she was watching only the rain and a forest of dancing hands. She also reached out her hand and swayed with the fans.

Once or twice she had to shake water off the microphone but she didn't care about such trifles. The most important was to feel like a part of the audience soaking in the rain. As always they were singing with her. As always she was so moved by that. As always they sang acapella the last two lines for her. As always she felt something huge and unnamed in her heart when she heard their united singing for her.

This time there was something new in a knot in her throat. She'd been thinking about Adrien during this song, giving it a new – personal – meaning for her. Yet, without a happy end in a real life…

And that was all. The end.

"Thank you! Have a good night!" she cried to the audience trying to sound cheerfully in spite of the pain in her heart. The crowd answered her with a round of applause and chanting '_LadyBug! LadyBug!_' But this time it was over.

She left the stage drenched to the skin. Tikki looked at her carefully, but said nothing. She led her directly to the dressing room, handing her a towel by the way.

"Change quickly before you catch a cold." the manager commanded. "I'll take care that no one disturb you."

"Thanks, Tikki…" Marinette whispered and began towelling down her hair.

She felt totally exhausted. All she needed now was something dry to wear and a cup of green tea…


	23. Adrien

Marinette entered the dressing room still towelling her hair. She realised that singing in the rain hadn't been the best idea in her life, but sometimes she got carried away by the fans' enthusiasm. This time it could lead her to catching a cold which wouldn't be welcome a day before some important meetings at Midem.

Suddenly, she froze. In her dressing room, on the only chair in the place, there was Adrien sitting and smiling at her.

"Hi…" he greeted shyly. Just like he had done at their first meeting.

"You… You're here for real?" she stuttered, unknowingly stepping closer. He instantly stood up and made a step towards her too.

"I'm not sure…" he smiled embarrassed and combed his hair.

"But… How? Why?"

"I saw your interview…" he blurted out and they both blushed terribly.

"Oh…" she murmured.

"And I thought…" he hesitated and made another step towards her. "I thought that I might ask you…"

"About what?" she asked breathless, looking up.

"If all that you said was true…"

"You could call…" she whispered and touched softly his cheek.

"My dad took my phone…" he confessed, and she burst out laughing.

"How old are you? Five?"

"You don't know my father…"

"And I'm not going to do it soon…" she winced. "Besides, there are a million of possibilities to contact me. Nino, Plagg…"

"Nino lost his phone as well. And Plagg forbade me to call you. Then you didn't accept the flowers and I started wondering if all of that was true or only my wishful thinking…"

"What flowers?" Marinette spotted.

"That day when I was flying to London, I found a florist at the airport. I bought roses and they sent the bouquet with a note to your house. When I called them later about the delivery they told me that it hadn't been accepted."

"Wait a moment!" she stopped him, when she recalled a question of one of journalists during the press conference. "You were in London? When?"

"My flight was in the morning, just after our last…" he hesitated blushed a bit. "…meeting. My father prepared the journey immediately after seeing our photo…"

"Tikki packed me the same day. I was eating breakfast when she brought me that tabloid with Alya's article. An hour later we were on our way to the airport."

"So maybe it was a reason you didn't get my flowers… I'm so sorry that I doubted you. For a moment I was thinking you just hadn't accepted them…"

"I would, Adrien. Whatever was written in that note it would save me a lot of sorrows…"

"I'm so sorry… It's all my father's fault!"

"I can't believe he got that picture so early in the morning that he managed to organise your journey!"

"He got it even earlier. In the evening before I came back home."

"How's that possible?"

"It seems that his connections reach far. Farther that we could imagine. Sometimes I'm terrified when I think how many people my father knows. That evening I understood how hopeless all that plan had been. Such a set-up wouldn't be ever successful, because my father would prevent even a slightest paparazzi's attempt to take a photo. I think Plagg didn't know about my father's power either. For the first time in my life I saw him horrified."

"Same with Tikki. She didn't even try to fix the situation. No, she practically ran away from Paris. I thought it was over… Yet… You're here…" she smiled warmly and again touched his cheek.

"I had to come. When you want to say something for the first time, you shouldn't do it on the phone…" he confessed and she felt breathless. "You couldn't do that on the phone either…" he added with a loving smile touching her palm on his cheek. "Nor I couldn't do this…" he whispered at the end then he leaned in and kissed her.

She climbed on her toes and put her arms around his neck as if she didn't want to let him go ever again. Adrien embraced her waist with one hand, and put the other one into her hair. Suddenly, he realised that she was still soaked, so – reluctantly – he broke a kiss and whispered keeping his lips only millimetres from hers:

"You should change, before you catch a cold…"

"I've already forgotten that you can spoil all the fun…" she giggled. "But you're right. I should change these clothes. Just give me ten minutes!" she promised and kissed him shortly.

"Maybe I'll survive…" he joked, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Your ladybug has smeared…" he murmured like he had done the day they went to Versailles and he touched her hair.

"It's the rain's fault…"

"Yeah, I saw you singing at the edge of the platform. You have no idea how much I wanted to leave backstage and come to you."

"You should!"

"Your manager didn't let me…"

Marinette burst out laughing, or at least attempted to do so, because she sneezed instead.

"I think we should work on your assertiveness." she commented.

"First, we have to make you change your clothes!" Adrien answered back.

Then he kissed her cheek and left the dressing room. He sat down on the nearest box and began wondering how long these ten minutes would last. Suddenly, Tikki appeared next to him, as if she had been waiting for the results of their talk.

"So?" she asked.

"I think it'll be OK." he smiled happy. "Thank you for letting me in."

"I didn't do it for you but for her. Actually, it doesn't matter anymore…"

"Can I take her for a walk?" he asked immediately, as if he was afraid that in a moment it would be too late.

Tikki glanced at him unsure, but finally she nodded.

"Just walk her home before midnight…"

Adrien looked at his watch and frowned. It was almost eleven.

"That may be difficult…" he muttered.

"I was joking!" Tikki patted his arm. "Just don't go far away, OK? Tomorrow we're having a meeting on Midem, so Marinette should be refreshed. Besides, it looks like still raining…"

"Not a typical weather for Nice, right?" Adrien smiled under his breath. "Don't worry. I have an umbrella. I won't let her get wet."

The manager bit her lip not to laugh. Those kids were just adorable! She couldn't believe that such a wonderful yet fragile love could grow from a silly idea – like a little plant that those two young people had to take care about. Just on their own. Yet, Tikki stayed positive, when she saw that Adrien had already found some determination in himself to stand against his father. That was a good sign. Where would it lead them? Nobody could foresee…


	24. Promises

Marinette – already dressed in jeans and T-shirt and with dried hair tied in a bun – ran out the dressing room, as if she was afraid that Adrien could mysteriously disappear. She sighed with relief when she saw him, sitting on a box with a woofer. It hadn't been a dream – he really was here!

"I hope you didn't get bored waiting…"

"Never!" he denied immediately, standing up. "I've just chatted a bit with your manager."

"You made another deal with her?" Marinette asked, winking at him. "Tikki has never let anyone in my dressing room before. How did you convince her?"

"I promised her your eternal happiness…" Adrien whispered then embraced her and kissed her on the cheek.

"_Eternal_ happiness?" she spotted and looked at him suspiciously. "Are you so sure?"

"You're not?" he was surprised. "I've honestly believed that you figured out long ago that I'd fallen in love with you."

Marinette lost her breath trying to process the news. Uhm… What?

"How could you be in love with me, if you said in Versailles…" she stopped, embarrassed.

"I said in Versailles what?" he smiled meaningfully.

"You know…" she mumbled. "During our game in the maze. You answered affirmatively to both _those questions_…"

"Yep. True. Affirmatively." he nodded amused.

"So… How's that possible that…"

"That I was already in love with you?" he finished her question, and when she confirmed he replied: "Honestly, I don't know, how it could happen so fast, but we were learning about each other quite intensely during two days and your last questions made me realise what I really felt."

"And who told you they loved you?" she blurted out, before she thought. "I mean… Why did you answer '_yes_' to the other question?"

"Well, I had to say so, because I had received so many declarations of love in my life that I would have lied if I said '_no_'. Yet, I wouldn't say they were confessions of true love. Your question wasn't too precise."

"So… You made fun of me?"

"None of the kind! I just dreamed of you changing your answers…"

"Today we both would go to the right…" she whispered blushed, and he immediately embraced her tight and spun around in happiness.

"If I wasn't so happy, I'd ask you how's that possible…" he winked at her.

"Better stop joking or I leave you here and now!" she warned him, frowning.

"You can't leave me here, because I've told Tikki I'm taking you for a walk."

"A walk? It's still raining." She noticed reasonably.

"I have an umbrella." he informed, leading her to the exit.

"I should go back to the hotel, Adrien… Tikki organised a meeting for tomorrow."

"I know about it. I promised her that it will be a very short walk. Just… I just wanted to spend more time with you. Last time we parted too early and look what happened…"

"I can see that we don't have to worry about your assertiveness anymore. You've learnt it quickly."

"You've been a great influence on me, M'Lady…" he grinned, then opened the door for her and they left the building.

They hid under the umbrella and walked in the direction of the beach.

"Have you come alone?" Marinette asked quietly.

"Impossible. Plagg sent me with escort."

"Nino?" she guessed at once.

"Yeah." he nodded. "Though… I think he had his own reasons."

"What do you mean?"

Adrien smiled under his breath.

"He promised to take care of that Alya would stop bother you."

"How is he going to do it?"

"I guess he's going to make her focus on more interesting subjects. Besides, he's always said that she's too good for tabloids and should write for the good magazines."

"You mean they know each other?!" she exclaimed outraged. "He lied to me?!"

"Uhm… Not quite… You asked him if he knew her. And he probably had never known her well. She'd let him down when he realised she'd been flirting with him only to get information about me."

"If he was with Alya, why your father thought you both were gays?"

"My dad never got known about it. Probably he would fire Nino as disloyal to our family. Honestly, I'm grateful that it was her in that club."

"What?!"

"Any other journalist would be to frightened of my father. Probably they would inform him about what they saw, but no one would write about it openly. But not her. She's fearless. Actually, I'm here thanks to her…"

"I don't get it."

"She wasn't afraid of asking you about me. And about my father. I know that it encouraged the rest of journalists to ask you more questions on this subject and that made you cry. Believe me, I'm going to talk to her about it as soon as I meet her. On the other hand, thanks to Alya I stopped caring about my father's opinion. Because I realised that no matter what, I had to be with you."

"Your father is so powerful. He managed to terrify my Tikki. What will happen now when he discover you've come here against his will?"

"I don't care. If he doesn't like it, it's his problem."

"But he can ruin your career! What will you do then?"

"I'll become maintained by you…" he joked and gave her a wink.

"Haha! Very funny!"

"There are some bright sides of that. I can go with you on tour. I like being backstage."

"You'll get bored soon."

"Don't worry, I'll find something else to do. Besides… I'm getting too old for modelling."

"You're joking, aren't you?" she stopped and looked at him in shock.

"Not at all. A few more years and I should retire. And honestly… I really hate that job…"

"Seriously? You would leave it?"

"For you?" he was surprised with her question. "I wouldn't hesitate even a second. I promised you the eternal happiness, remember?"

"Uhm… I'll hold you to your promise, Adrien Agreste!"

"That's great, because I can't wait to prove how much reliable I am, M'Lady." He grinned and then embraced her under the umbrella and kissed her.

x x x

"Don't you even dare!" Nino muttered and grabbed Alya's hand before she reached for her smartphone.

"But…" she began.

"I imposed one condition, and the _only one_. There will be no third chance." he warned.

They crossed their eyes in a silent duel, but Alya gave in first.

"OK." she nodded.

"I think we can leave them there." Nino commented. "I can buy you a drink as consolation."

"As consolation?" she repeated.

"I've just robbed you of the material for an article." he grinned.

"Don't worry. I'll draw you a bill."

"I hope I won't pay as much as last time."

"I pro-promised you, Nino. And I'm sorry for what happened last time."

"It's OK, Alya. Let's go, before they notice you. I can't promise that you'll survive."

"Yeah, let's go."

She didn't look back. It was a bombshell for every journalist, but this article would have a price that Alya didn't want to pay. Not this time.

x x x

THE END


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